Waterspout in the Shape of a Lion

664–30 B.C.E.

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Object Label

In addition to channeling occasional storm water from temple roofs and walls, waterspouts such as this one were believed to have magical qualities. Akin to sphinxes, the leonine images symbolized power and guarded the structures they adorned.

Caption

Waterspout in the Shape of a Lion, 664–30 B.C.E.. Limestone, 7 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 8 9/16 in. (19 x 11.5 x 21.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 35.1311. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 35.1311_front_PS1.jpg)

Title

Waterspout in the Shape of a Lion

Date

664–30 B.C.E.

Dynasty

Dynasty 26, or later

Period

Late Period to Ptolemaic Period

Geography

Place made: Egypt

Medium

Limestone

Classification

Architectural Element

Dimensions

7 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 8 9/16 in. (19 x 11.5 x 21.7 cm)

Credit Line

Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

Accession Number

35.1311

Rights

Creative Commons-BY

You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

Frequent Art Questions

  • May I please have more information on the waterspout shaped like a lion?

    As you might have already read on the label, this spout would have been positioned on a temple roof or wall.
    It's like a forerunner of the gargoyles that we see much later in French Gothic architecture on cathedrals like Notre Dame. In addition to channeling the rainwater down off the roof, the lion served a protective purpose. Felines of many kinds were closely associated with royalty (especially the pharaoh himself) and various deities in ancient Egyptian culture/religion. They were important symbolic guardians, just like the everyday cats that protected the Egyptians' granaries from mice!
  • I don't see a hole underneath the chin for water to flow, did the water pour over the head and face?

    The large pour spout is under the lower jaw. It would have been positioned on a temple roof or wall. In addition to channeling the rainwater down off the roof, the lion served a protective purpose.

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