These statues, simply titled “Lion”, were modeled by the German artist Johann Gottlieb Kirchner circa 1732-1735.  They were constructed using Meissen porcelain, the first European hard-paste porcelain – this material was developed in 1708 by Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus.  These two lions were commissioned with around 150 other mammals and 30 birds during the 1730s, and were part of a collection of ceramic animals made for the ruler of Saxony, Augustus the Strong, who established the Meissen factory in 1710.

The first thing I noticed wasn’t the actual traits of the lions themselves; when I first studied the statues, I was able to find veinlike cracks that arced across both of the statues.  Of course, this makes sense, as porcelain is extremely fragile, and it’s remarkable that these statues were able to survive this long.  These lions in particular appear somewhat artistically stylized, perhaps to better suit the cultural aesthetics of the time.  The male lion’s mane, although not as thick as lion’s manes appear to be in real life, is gracefully detailed, cascading down his back in waves.  Both the lion and the lioness have long tufts of fur sticking out from their legs and bellies, which – while this trait is certainly visible in actual lions – isn’t nearly as bushy.  The lions’ bodies themselves are also made to appear quite fit and well-muscled, emphasizing the animal’s innate power and majesty.  The artist also took care to display the large, imposing claws of the two cats. Their claws are unsheathed, as if they are ready to pounce on whomever deigns to approach them.  In that respect, I have to wonder if their purpose was to resemble guardians.  However, I think the characteristic that caught me off guard the most was the expressions on both of these lions.  For whatever reason, the lions appear to have been anthropomorphized in a way – they were given pupils, strikingly similar to that of humans.  As a result, their facial expressions look uncanny.  I had to laugh as I looked at the expression on the lioness’s face; she looks disgusted or embarrassed, while the male lion just appears to be uncomfortable.  I don’t know whether that was the artist’s intention or not, but the emotions I felt when looking at these statues ran from amazement to amusement very quickly.