Description: The animal is lying in a formal pose with head raised and tail curled over the left near quarter. The mane is corroded but was obviously luxuriant. . . The underside is hollow and possibly provided a means of attachment (eg soldering), perhaps to a piece of furniture or a large metal vessel. This lion is remarkably similar in size and pose to that from Hanbury, Worcestershire (Symons 1985) and the two almost certainly share a common function, possibly even deriving from the same workshop, though they are not from the same mould. To give but two examples of differences, the ribs on the Hanbury lion curve in the opposite direction to those on the Colchester animal, and the top of each of its forelegs is delineated by a fringe of short incised grooves (Crummy).
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Image: Courtesy of Colchester Castle Museum.