LION HOLDING COAT OF ARMS
sculpted walnut wood, traces of colouring
The splendid 16th-century wooden sculpture depicts an imposing couchant lion with its jaws open and snarling. Between its forepaws, it firmly grips a cartoccio shield adorned with a heraldic motif of significant historical interest: above the capital letters “P” and “B” sits a cardinal’s hat, an element suggesting an original connection to a high-ranking ecclesiastical figure.
The lion is portrayed in a crouched position, its forepaws supporting the shield and its claws sharply defined. Elegant acanthus leaves are arranged across the animal’s back, carved with great finesse; they unfold like a decorative mantle, perhaps originally supporting an architectural element such as a small column. Despite the passage of time, the work bears witness to the skill of 15th-century Venetian sculptors and the richness of the heraldic and ecclesiastical traditions of the era.
Veneto, late 16th century
cm 63×80
