Lion devouring the head of an Asian – Egypt, 26th-27th dynasty (664-404 BC)
Faience – H: 3.3 cm, L: 6.8 cm.

Depicted as a lion devouring an Asian prisoner–who can be recognized by his pointed beard and Roman nose–the Pharaoh provides magical protection from Egypt’s traditional enemies.

The best parallel, from an iconographical point of view, is the famous Ramesside lion’s head swallowing the head of a Nubian, from the Schimmel Collection, kept in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (1989.281.92).

Provenance: O.L. collection, Brussels, 1980s