The lion is king of the animals. In antiquity, the lion's prominence was likened to the sun among the heavenly spheres, the heart in the human body, and gold among the precious metals. Here the lion is depicted as a Renaissance monarch, in a pose and armor inspired by Medici court sculptor Giambologna. Wearing a crown encrusted with jasper and lapis lazuli, the lion sits astride his mount—his pomp tempered only by the jaunty rails of a rocking horse.
