{
    "data": {
        "id": 141743,
        "accession_number": "1965.323.2",
        "share_license_status": "Copyrighted",
        "tombstone": "Lion, c. 1940s. Africa, West Africa, Republic of Benin, Fon-style maker. Wood; overall: 36 x 59.8 x 21.6 cm (14 3/16 x 23 9/16 x 8 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. Ralph M. Coe in memory of Ralph M. Coe, 1965.323.2",
        "current_location": null,
        "title": "Lion",
        "creation_date": "c. 1940s",
        "creation_date_earliest": 1940,
        "creation_date_latest": 1949,
        "artists_tags": [],
        "culture": [
            "Africa, West Africa, Republic of Benin, Fon-style maker"
        ],
        "technique": "wood",
        "support_materials": [],
        "department": "African Art",
        "collection": "African Art",
        "type": "Sculpture",
        "measurements": "Overall: 36 x 59.8 x 21.6 cm (14 3/16 x 23 9/16 x 8 1/2 in.)",
        "dimensions": {
            "overall": {
                "height": 0.36,
                "width": 0.598,
                "depth": 0.216
            }
        },
        "state_of_the_work": null,
        "edition_of_the_work": null,
        "copyright": null,
        "inscriptions": [],
        "exhibitions": {
            "current": [
                {
                    "id": 441481,
                    "title": "Gallery One 2012",
                    "description": "<i>Gallery One 2012</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 12, 2012-March 5, 2017).",
                    "opening_date": "2012-12-12T05:00:00"
                }
            ],
            "legacy": []
        },
        "provenance": [],
        "find_spot": null,
        "related_works": [],
        "former_accession_numbers": [],
        "did_you_know": null,
        "description": "This lion, in the style of the Donvid\u00e9 School founded by Aqueminon Donvid\u00e9 in 1909, was created for the royal family at Abomey as well as for French colonial officials and foreign visitors. Rulers of the powerful Fon kingdom of Dahomey possesed objects that glorified their military might and spiritual power. Each object had visual symbols or crests recalling a praise or \"strong name\" of its owner. Powerful lions with full manes, symbolic of the nineteenth-century king Glele, were borrowed from European heraldry sources since no lions existed in this part of West Africa. Metaphorically, the lions alluded to Glele's victories over his enemies.",
        "external_resources": {
            "wikidata": [
                "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q80041432"
            ],
            "internet_archive": []
        },
        "citations": [
            {
                "citation": "The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.",
                "page_number": "Reproduced: p. 303",
                "url": "https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1966/page/n327"
            },
            {
                "citation": "The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969.",
                "page_number": "Reproduced: p. 303",
                "url": "https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1969/page/n327"
            },
            {
                "citation": "The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.",
                "page_number": "Reproduced: p. 411",
                "url": "https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1978/page/n431"
            }
        ],
        "url": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1965.323.2",
        "images": {},
        "alternate_images": [],
        "creditline": "Gift of Mrs. Ralph M. Coe in memory of Ralph M. Coe",
        "image_credit": null,
        "sketchfab_id": null,
        "sketchfab_url": null,
        "gallery_donor_text": null,
        "athena_id": 141743,
        "creators": [],
        "legal_status": "accessioned",
        "accession_date": "1965-09-11T00:00:00",
        "sortable_date": 1940,
        "date_added_to_oa": null,
        "date_text": "c. 1940s",
        "collapse_artists": false,
        "on_loan": false,
        "recently_acquired": false,
        "record_type": "component",
        "conservation_statement": null,
        "has_conservation_images": false,
        "cover_accession_number": "1965.323",
        "is_nazi_era_provenance": false,
        "impression": null,
        "alternate_titles": [],
        "is_highlight": false,
        "updated_at": "2026-03-26 23:59:45.684000"
    }
}