LION IN ART. With the ancient Egyp tians the lion was dedicated to the god Shu and the goddess Sechmet, both of which were, therefore, represented with the heads of lions. Again, the kingly dignity was represented by a lion's body, its head being the features of the ruler. As the Nile inundations occurred when the sun was in the zodiacal constellation Leo, the lion was symbol of water; hence that animal is found in the decorations of pitchers, pails and other water containers. Cybele (Rhea) with the Assyrians and Greeks was depicted riding on or standing by a lion because that animal was dedicated to her. The lion was also symbol of the all-penetrating, vitalizing and mastering power of fire. The Assyrians and Greeks, in their architecture, made the lion guardian over the palace. To the Greeks and Romans this animal became guardian over springs, doorways, stairways, etc. Dedicated to springs (as Krenophylax) the flowing water gushed out of a lion's mouth; again, in Doric architecture we find an open-mouthed lion's head decorating the outlets that released the rainwater from the roof. The lion was the Mithraic symbol of the sun. In Christian art the lion is symbol of Christ as the of and sometimes bears the cruciform nimbus. This animal is the attribute of Saint Jerome and of Saint Mark the Evangelist as well as of the Prophet Daniel. The lion and
serpents are ecclesiastical symbols of World and the (seeking whom he may devour). In the decorative arts the lion, typical of strength, was used by the ancient Greeks and Romans as a form for supports (legs, etc.) for chairs, benches and tables. The lion's head, with a ring in its mouth, was a favored motif of the Middle Ages and Renaissance as a hitching grip and as doorknocker, and the head alone was used as a knob or rosette decoration. The lion's claw as a motif for the feet of fur niture also comes down to us from ancient times. The lion, being considered as the ((king of has been made symbol of heroism, herre the title of England's King Richard I as Cceur de Lion hearted'>), etc. In this human significance the artist gives the lion an oval eye instead of the naturalistic round cat's eye. The heraldic lion couchant represents sov ereignty; rampant, magnanimity; passant, reso lution; guardant, prudence; salient, counsel, and reguardant, circumspection. The sleeping lion has long been the artist's symbol of the fallen hero. The lion statue of Venice, world re nowned, in the Piazza San Marco,, refers, of course, to that saint. Florence has its heraldic representation in a lion, generaltx_called Mar zocco. CLEMENT W. COUMBE.