3-047-593 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Lion's Head Waterspout, about 400 BC. Additional Info: This waterspout takes the shape of a fully-modeled lion's head. Three ranks of curls with rounded ends at the top of the head and tufts of hair on either side form the mane. The right eye is well preserved with a round eyeball and a ridge around the eye socket. Four carved channels on the muzzle denote whiskers. The teeth at the front and sides including the canines are carved as a solid structure. Greek artists skillfully adapted architectural elements as decorative devices. Originally attached to a sima, a roof element that functioned as a gutter, this waterspout once protected a building from rainwater damage. On the surviving surface of the sima is a double palmette ornament carved in relief. Five fronds remain on the palmette. The image of the lion was believed to ward off evil, thus protecting the building and its inhabitants.