The shape was not English, it was unmistakably Venetian.
The description was just about what I'd expected:
I guess the British were busy celebrating, having scored one against Napoleon - can't say I blame 'em.
Then I took a good look at the actual statue:
Mhmm, no book.
They captured Corfu, snagged the lion, but managed to come away without the book (either that or it was out for cleaning today).
This statue us not a small one. I realize that the photo doesn't offer much to figure out the scale, but I can tell you that the lion looked to me like it was about the same size as a real lion.
He does seem to have an odd shaped mouth, but then I'm really no expert on Venetian Lions.
As I was walking out of the place,
I noticed over the door...another Lion!
I couldn't find any description on this one,
but there was no mistaking it - the piece was either from Venice,
or from somewhere that had been controlled by Venice.
Greg,
ReplyDeleteTry the London Wall walk which traces large sections of the original Roman wall. It starts in front of the Tower of London where there is a section of the wall. There should be tiles with information but I understand some are gone but there is lots of info on the web now. Established in 1984 I did the walk in 1987 while living a year in London. Guinness pint price in London 1987: 1.15!