Lionne de Guennol The Guennol Lioness is a 5,000-year-old Mesopotamian statue depicting an anthropomorphic lioness. The statue was found near Baghdad, Iraq and is on display in New York City’s Brooklyn Museum of Art. The Lioness Demon, an Elamite figure believed to have been created circa 3000–2800 BC, was on loan to the Brooklyn Museum of Art until it was purchased at auction by an English collector. Its historical significance is that it is thought to have been created at about the same time when the first known use of the wheel, the development of cuneiform writing, and the emergence of the first cities were recorded. These humanlike animal figures can be seen in the top and bottom registers of the trapezoidal front panel from the famous Great Lyre from the “King’s Grave” (circa 2650–2550 BC), which was discovered by British archaeologist Sir Leonard Woolley early in the 20th century at Ur in present-day Iraq. Many ancient Near East deities were represented in anthropomorphic figures (figures with human and animal features merged). Such humanlike animal images evoked the Mesopotamians’ belief in attaining power over the physical world by combining the superior physical attributes of various species. The nearby Sumerians possibly borrowed this powerful artistic hybrid from the Proto-Elamites.
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Lionne de Guennol

The Guennol Lioness is a 5,000-year-old Mesopotamian statue depicting an anthropomorphic lioness. The statue was found near Baghdad, Iraq and is on display in New York City’s Brooklyn Museum of Art.

The Lioness Demon, an Elamite figure believed to have been created circa 3000–2800 BC, was on loan to the Brooklyn Museum of Art until it was purchased at auction by an English collector. Its historical significance is that it is thought to have been created at about the same time when the first known use of the wheel, the development of cuneiform writing, and the emergence of the first cities were recorded.

These humanlike animal figures can be seen in the top and bottom registers of the trapezoidal front panel from the famous Great Lyre from the “King’s Grave” (circa 2650–2550 BC), which was discovered by British archaeologist Sir Leonard Woolley early in the 20th century at Ur in present-day Iraq.

Many ancient Near East deities were represented in anthropomorphic figures (figures with human and animal features merged). Such humanlike animal images evoked the Mesopotamians’ belief in attaining power over the physical world by combining the superior physical attributes of various species. The nearby Sumerians possibly borrowed this powerful artistic hybrid from the Proto-Elamites.

Buffle - Tabwa, Masque kiyunde République Démocratique du CongoBois, cuivre et pigments - H. : 39 cm  Acquis de Mme Jean Verheyleweghen Photo Roger Asselberghs, Musée royal de l’Afrique centrale, Tervuren. De tous les appendices qui ornent les masques anthropozoomorphes de l’Afrique subsaharienne, les cornes sont les plus fréquemment représentées. Elles peuvent évoquer de façon évidente ou allusive l’antilope, gibier abondant et très prisé dans maintes régions. De même, le buffle figuré avec des cornes volumineuses constitue une image récurrente dans le répertoire des masques et symbolise la force brutale. Cet animal ne sort qu’à la nuit tombée ou à l’aurore, et, durant la journée, se cache dans les fourrés. D’un tempérament tantôt paisible tantôt violent, il vit en troupeaux. Selon les Tabwa (République démocratique du Congo), le buffle possède la capacité de se rendre invisible, aptitude que l’on prête aux sorciers, ces derniers opérant leurs maléfices dans l’anonymat. Musée Dapper
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Buffle - Tabwa, Masque kiyunde

République Démocratique du Congo
Bois, cuivre et pigments - H. : 39 cm 

Acquis de Mme Jean Verheyleweghen 
Photo Roger Asselberghs, Musée royal de l’Afrique centrale, Tervuren.

De tous les appendices qui ornent les masques anthropozoomorphes de l’Afrique subsaharienne, les cornes sont les plus fréquemment représentées. Elles peuvent évoquer de façon évidente ou allusive l’antilope, gibier abondant et très prisé dans maintes régions. De même, le buffle figuré avec des cornes volumineuses constitue une image récurrente dans le répertoire des masques et symbolise la force brutale. Cet animal ne sort qu’à la nuit tombée ou à l’aurore, et, durant la journée, se cache dans les fourrés. D’un tempérament tantôt paisible tantôt violent, il vit en troupeaux. Selon les Tabwa (République démocratique du Congo), le buffle possède la capacité de se rendre invisible, aptitude que l’on prête aux sorciers, ces derniers opérant leurs maléfices dans l’anonymat.

Musée Dapper