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Dimensions - 40cm high
Deeply carved in Bathstone (?) this keystone is designed to be seen from below. The overhang of the upper jaw and deep eye sockets giving the effect of the beast looming over the arched entrance into which it would have been set.
Keystones were an integral element in entrance architecture; the flourish of the sculptors hand presenting the intent and power of the buildings owner. Hence we see Pope Pius IV commissioning Michelangelo to design a grotesque mask for a new gate in the walls of Rome.
This lion mask must have been commissioned by an educated and knowledgeable patron. We have no record of the building for which it was carved.