id:			141743
accession number:	1965.323.2
share license status:	Copyrighted
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1965.323.2
updated:		2023-03-10 19:43:00.794000

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

title:				Lion
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			c. 1940s
creation date earliest:		1940
creation date latest:		1949
current location:		
creditline:			Gift of Mrs. Ralph M. Coe in memory of Ralph M. Coe
copyright:			

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culture:	Africa, West Africa, Republic of Benin, Fon-style maker
technique:	wood
department:	African Art
collection:	African Art
type:		Sculpture
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Overall: 36 x 59.8 x 21.6 cm (14 3/16 x 23 9/16 x 8 1/2 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		Gallery One 2012
	opening date:   2012-12-12T05:00:00
	<i>Gallery One 2012</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 12, 2012-March 5, 2017).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

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PROVENANCE

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fun fact:


digital description:


wall description:
This lion, in the style of the Donvidé School founded by Aqueminon Donvidé 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.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	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

	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

	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

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IMAGES