Cats and Lions
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Animals Sculpture Ancient sculpture Persia Ancient drawing Rembrandt Imperial seal Renoir Picasso Picasso 1940-1960 Picasso in Mougins Marc Ancient French painting
Chronology : Origin 1640-1649 1730-1739 1860-1869 1912 1940-1949 1941 1989
See also : Animals Sculpture Ancient sculpture Persia Ancient drawing Rembrandt Imperial seal Renoir Picasso Picasso 1940-1960 Picasso in Mougins Marc Ancient French painting
Chronology : Origin 1640-1649 1730-1739 1860-1869 1912 1940-1949 1941 1989
3000 BCE The Guennol Lioness
2007 SOLD for $ 57M by Sotheby's
The Guennol Lioness was sold for $ 57M by Sotheby's on December 5, 2007, lot 30.
This very finely chiseled stone figure 8.3 cm high has the head of a lioness on a human body. It certainly comes from the Iranian plateau and was sold in 1931 to a New York merchant. Its discovery thus precedes the excavations of Tell Agrab, begun in 1936 by a team from the University of Chicago appealed by other finds among the antique dealers of Baghdad.
Such hybrid representations between human and feline date back to prehistoric cultures. The ivory lion-man from the Hohlenstein-Stadel cave, dated ca 35,000 to 40,000 years ago by radiocarbon, is the oldest authenticated example of figurative art. The Chauvet cave, painted 30,000 years ago, also includes a lion-woman hybrid.
The Guennol Lioness was sculpted about 5,000 years ago. It belongs to the Proto-Elamite culture, characterized by the development of a proto-writing that has not been decrypted. It is several centuries earlier than the use of the sphinx as a necropolis guardian in Egypt.
It is one of a kind in the round, but is related to similar figures that raise mountains or huge trunks in two-dimensional sigillary iconography. These representations are therefore symbols of extreme power, confirmed in the Guennol Lioness by the hypertrophy of the muscles and the authoritarian position of the head. The head is pierced, allowing to hang it to the neck of a prominent character.
Its name and its exact role in the mythology of that time are not known. It must be analyzed alongside its male counterpart, a bull's head on a human body, of which a kneeling figure is kept at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Unlike the Guennol Lioness whose hands are joined on the abdomen, this proto-Elamite hybrid holds a liturgical vessel.
Guennol is the pseudonym chosen by the couple of collectors who acquired it in 1948 and entrusted its exhibition for almost 60 years to the Brooklyn Museum of Art.
Grok thought :
Quote
History Content @HistContent Sep 24
5,000 years ago in Mesopotamia The Guennol Lioness—half human, half lion—symbolized raw power. In 2007, it sold for $57.2M, the most expensive ancient sculpture ever. Why did our ancestors craft such hybrids?
This very finely chiseled stone figure 8.3 cm high has the head of a lioness on a human body. It certainly comes from the Iranian plateau and was sold in 1931 to a New York merchant. Its discovery thus precedes the excavations of Tell Agrab, begun in 1936 by a team from the University of Chicago appealed by other finds among the antique dealers of Baghdad.
Such hybrid representations between human and feline date back to prehistoric cultures. The ivory lion-man from the Hohlenstein-Stadel cave, dated ca 35,000 to 40,000 years ago by radiocarbon, is the oldest authenticated example of figurative art. The Chauvet cave, painted 30,000 years ago, also includes a lion-woman hybrid.
The Guennol Lioness was sculpted about 5,000 years ago. It belongs to the Proto-Elamite culture, characterized by the development of a proto-writing that has not been decrypted. It is several centuries earlier than the use of the sphinx as a necropolis guardian in Egypt.
It is one of a kind in the round, but is related to similar figures that raise mountains or huge trunks in two-dimensional sigillary iconography. These representations are therefore symbols of extreme power, confirmed in the Guennol Lioness by the hypertrophy of the muscles and the authoritarian position of the head. The head is pierced, allowing to hang it to the neck of a prominent character.
Its name and its exact role in the mythology of that time are not known. It must be analyzed alongside its male counterpart, a bull's head on a human body, of which a kneeling figure is kept at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Unlike the Guennol Lioness whose hands are joined on the abdomen, this proto-Elamite hybrid holds a liturgical vessel.
Guennol is the pseudonym chosen by the couple of collectors who acquired it in 1948 and entrusted its exhibition for almost 60 years to the Brooklyn Museum of Art.
Grok thought :
Quote
History Content @HistContent Sep 24
5,000 years ago in Mesopotamia The Guennol Lioness—half human, half lion—symbolized raw power. In 2007, it sold for $57.2M, the most expensive ancient sculpture ever. Why did our ancestors craft such hybrids?
- The Guennol Lioness, a 3.3-inch limestone sculpture from circa 3000 BCE in Mesopotamia (likely Elamite), depicts a muscular female lion-human hybrid in a protective stance, symbolizing raw power and fertility; it fetched $57.2 million at Sotheby's in 2007, setting a record for ancient sculptures until surpassed in 2019.
- In Mesopotamian art, hybrid figures like this combined human intellect with animal ferocity to represent divine authority and apotropaic protection against evil, as seen in palace reliefs where similar motifs guarded kings, per analyses in the Metropolitan Museum's Mesopotamian collections.
- Ancestors crafted such hybrids to embody cosmic forces and royal might, drawing from mythological precursors to ordered creation—evidenced by cuneiform texts describing leonine deities like Inanna's consort as embodiments of uncontrollable strength, blending awe with ritual control.
History of the Guennol Lioness
The Guennol Lioness (also called the Guennol Lioness Anthropomorphic Figurine) is a small limestone statue, approximately 8.26 cm (3¼ inches) tall, dating to the Proto-Elamite period, ca. 3300–2800 BCE. It was discovered sometime before 1931, most likely in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq), near Baghdad. Its exact archaeological provenance is unknown because it surfaced on the antiquities market without documented excavation records.
The Guennol Lioness is widely regarded as one of the most important surviving works of early Mesopotamian/Elamite art for several reasons:
The Guennol Lioness is universally accepted as authentic by major scholars and institutions:
The Guennol Lioness (also called the Guennol Lioness Anthropomorphic Figurine) is a small limestone statue, approximately 8.26 cm (3¼ inches) tall, dating to the Proto-Elamite period, ca. 3300–2800 BCE. It was discovered sometime before 1931, most likely in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq), near Baghdad. Its exact archaeological provenance is unknown because it surfaced on the antiquities market without documented excavation records.
- First known owner: Purchased in 1931 by the British archaeologist and collector Sir Leonard Woolley on behalf of the American collector Alastair Bradley Martin and his wife Edith Park Martin.
- Name origin: The Martins kept their collection at their estate named “Guennol” (Welsh for “martin”) in Long Island, New York; the piece became known as the Guennol Lioness.
- Public display: Loaned for decades to the Brooklyn Museum (1948–2007), where it became one of its most famous objects.
- 2007 auction: On 5 December 2007, Sotheby’s New York sold the statue for US $57.2 million (including premium), then the highest price ever paid for any sculpture or antiquity at auction. The buyer was a private English collector bidding through an agent.
- Current ownership: Remains in private hands; it has been exhibited only rarely since 2007 (notably in 2009 at the Louvre Abu Dhabi on temporary loan).
The Guennol Lioness is widely regarded as one of the most important surviving works of early Mesopotamian/Elamite art for several reasons:
- Artistic mastery: Despite its tiny size, it is an extraordinarily powerful and dynamic sculpture. The figure combines human and lion characteristics (therianthropomorphic): a muscular, standing anthropoid body with human arms and hands, but leonine legs, paws, face, ears, and mane. The pose—standing on tiptoes, elbows out, hands clenched—suggests intense strength or a ritual gesture.
- Iconographic importance: It is the finest and most complete example of a very rare type of Proto-Elamite figurine that mixes human and lion traits. Scholars interpret it variously as:
- A female demon or protective spirit (lioness attributes often linked to fertility, war, or the goddess Inanna/Ishtar)
- A representation of a priestess or worshipper in lion form
- A mythological being connected to the earliest known heroic motifs (similar to later Mesopotamian “lion-hunter” or Gilgamesh-type imagery)
- Rarity: Fewer than ten comparable Proto-Elamite anthropomorphic lion figures are known, and none match its quality or state of preservation.
- Cultural bridge: It belongs to the transitional period between the late Uruk and early Proto-Elamite cultures in southern Mesopotamia and southwestern Iran, a crucial phase in the development of complex urban societies and early writing.
The Guennol Lioness is universally accepted as authentic by major scholars and institutions:
- Material: Carved from creamy-white magnesite limestone typical of the period and region.
- Stylistic features: The exaggerated muscular anatomy, incised details, and proportions are consistent with other verified Proto-Elamite sculptures (e.g., similar lion-demons from Susa and the “Louvre lioness”).
- Thermoluminescence (TL) testing: Conducted in the 1990s and again before the 2007 sale; results were consistent with an age of approximately 5,000 years.
- Scholarly consensus: Published and accepted since the 1930s by leading archaeologists (Henri Frankfort, Pierre Amiet, Edith Porada, Annie Caubet, etc.). No serious scholar has questioned its authenticity.
5,000 years ago in Mesopotamia
— History Content (@HistContent) September 24, 2025
The Guennol Lioness—half human, half lion—symbolized raw power.
In 2007, it sold for $57.2M, the most expensive ancient sculpture ever.
Why did our ancestors craft such hybrids? pic.twitter.com/Xy4mPJ31P7
1638-1642 Young Lion Resting by Rembrandt
2026 SOLD for $ 18M by Sotheby's
Young Lion Resting, black chalk, white chalk heightening and gray wash on brown laid paper 11.5 x 15 cm executed by Rembrandt ca 1638-1642, was sold for $ 18M by Sotheby's on February 4, 2026, lot 201. The video is shared by the auction house.
Rembrandt's "Young Lion Resting" (c. 1638–1642) holds notable significance in the artist's career, though animal studies represent only a small, specialized portion of his vast oeuvre, which is dominated by portraits, biblical scenes, history paintings, self-portraits, and etchings.
Rarity and Focus on Exotic Animals
Rembrandt produced very few animal drawings from life, with lions particularly intriguing him due to their rarity in 17th-century Netherlands. Only six autograph lion drawings by Rembrandt are known today, making this one exceptionally scarce. "Young Lion Resting" is the only animal depiction by him remaining in private hands—all others are in institutions like the British Museum (two related studies of the same lion), Louvre, Rijksmuseum, and Boijmans Van Beuningen.
These works date primarily to the late 1630s–early 1640s, a period of artistic maturity when Rembrandt was in his 30s, established in Amsterdam, and exploring direct observation. Exotic animals like North African lions arrived via Dutch East India Company ships and appeared in menageries or fairs, opportunities Rembrandt (and his pupils) seized for study. Contemporary advice to artists emphasized sketching such rarities "from life" (nae 't leven) for future use in compositions.
Demonstration of Observational Mastery
The drawing exemplifies Rembrandt's skill in capturing not just physical form but inner life and character—a piercing gaze, poised power, and restless vitality conveyed through black chalk, subtle gray washes, and adjustments (e.g., the paw sketched in two positions). This aligns with his broader interest in psychological depth, seen in human portraits, but applied here to an animal, infusing it with almost anthropomorphic intensity.
Practical Role in His Practice
These studies served as reference material, allowing Rembrandt to depict animals convincingly from imagination in later works. Lions often symbolized strength or appeared in biblical contexts (e.g., Saint Jerome's companion). Earlier etchings show less accurate lions, while post-study depictions improved, though direct links to this specific drawing are limited.
Broader Context in Rembrandt's Career
While masterful, animal drawings were peripheral compared to his prolific output in other genres. They reflect his empirical approach during a prosperous phase before personal/financial challenges in the 1650s. The 1656 bankruptcy inventory mentions an album of his animal sketches from life, underscoring their value as study tools.
In summary, "Young Lion Resting" is significant for its extreme rarity, vivid demonstration of Rembrandt's draughtsmanship and observational prowess, and insight into his working methods—yet it remains a specialized outlier in a career defined by human-centered innovation.
Compare naturalistic precision in these drawings : Head of a Bear by Leonardo (1480s, sold on July 8, 2021 by Christie's, lot 20), Feldhase by Dürer (1502, Albertina Wien), 1638-1642 Young Lion Resting by Rembrandt (1638-1642, for sale on February 4, 2026, by Sotheby's, lot 201). Explain the technique and purpose of these drawings.
Rembrandt van Rijn: Young Lion Resting (c. 1638–1642)
Executed in black chalk with white chalk heightening and grey wash on brown laid paper (11.5 × 15 cm), this shows a young lion resting in three-quarter view, with emphasis on the mane, face, and forepaws. Rembrandt uses loose, energetic strokes, washes for tone, and highlights to suggest fur volume and texture. The eyes are accentuated to convey inner life and nobility, but the rendering is more expressive and sketch-like than minutely detailed.
Purpose: One of a small series of studies from a live lion (likely in an Amsterdam menagerie). These were observational exercises capturing the animal's form and character, possibly for use in paintings, etchings (e.g., Adam and Eve, 1638), or symbolic works like a political grisaille featuring a lion.
Comparison of Naturalistic Precision
All three works exemplify Renaissance/Baroque advances in observing and depicting animals from life, moving beyond medieval stylization toward empirical accuracy.
- Estimated at $15-20 million, the piece originates from The Leiden Collection—home to the world's largest private Rembrandt holdings—and its sale on February 4, 2026, in New York will fund Panthera, a global wild cat conservation effort founded by collector Dr. Thomas S. Kaplan.
- Provenance traces back to 18th-century French collector Jean-Jacques de Boissieu, underscoring the drawing's historical prestige, while its modest scale belies Rembrandt's innovative use of materials to convey the lion's poised power and vitality.
Rembrandt's "Young Lion Resting" (c. 1638–1642) holds notable significance in the artist's career, though animal studies represent only a small, specialized portion of his vast oeuvre, which is dominated by portraits, biblical scenes, history paintings, self-portraits, and etchings.
Rarity and Focus on Exotic Animals
Rembrandt produced very few animal drawings from life, with lions particularly intriguing him due to their rarity in 17th-century Netherlands. Only six autograph lion drawings by Rembrandt are known today, making this one exceptionally scarce. "Young Lion Resting" is the only animal depiction by him remaining in private hands—all others are in institutions like the British Museum (two related studies of the same lion), Louvre, Rijksmuseum, and Boijmans Van Beuningen.
These works date primarily to the late 1630s–early 1640s, a period of artistic maturity when Rembrandt was in his 30s, established in Amsterdam, and exploring direct observation. Exotic animals like North African lions arrived via Dutch East India Company ships and appeared in menageries or fairs, opportunities Rembrandt (and his pupils) seized for study. Contemporary advice to artists emphasized sketching such rarities "from life" (nae 't leven) for future use in compositions.
Demonstration of Observational Mastery
The drawing exemplifies Rembrandt's skill in capturing not just physical form but inner life and character—a piercing gaze, poised power, and restless vitality conveyed through black chalk, subtle gray washes, and adjustments (e.g., the paw sketched in two positions). This aligns with his broader interest in psychological depth, seen in human portraits, but applied here to an animal, infusing it with almost anthropomorphic intensity.
Practical Role in His Practice
These studies served as reference material, allowing Rembrandt to depict animals convincingly from imagination in later works. Lions often symbolized strength or appeared in biblical contexts (e.g., Saint Jerome's companion). Earlier etchings show less accurate lions, while post-study depictions improved, though direct links to this specific drawing are limited.
Broader Context in Rembrandt's Career
While masterful, animal drawings were peripheral compared to his prolific output in other genres. They reflect his empirical approach during a prosperous phase before personal/financial challenges in the 1650s. The 1656 bankruptcy inventory mentions an album of his animal sketches from life, underscoring their value as study tools.
In summary, "Young Lion Resting" is significant for its extreme rarity, vivid demonstration of Rembrandt's draughtsmanship and observational prowess, and insight into his working methods—yet it remains a specialized outlier in a career defined by human-centered innovation.
Compare naturalistic precision in these drawings : Head of a Bear by Leonardo (1480s, sold on July 8, 2021 by Christie's, lot 20), Feldhase by Dürer (1502, Albertina Wien), 1638-1642 Young Lion Resting by Rembrandt (1638-1642, for sale on February 4, 2026, by Sotheby's, lot 201). Explain the technique and purpose of these drawings.
Rembrandt van Rijn: Young Lion Resting (c. 1638–1642)
Executed in black chalk with white chalk heightening and grey wash on brown laid paper (11.5 × 15 cm), this shows a young lion resting in three-quarter view, with emphasis on the mane, face, and forepaws. Rembrandt uses loose, energetic strokes, washes for tone, and highlights to suggest fur volume and texture. The eyes are accentuated to convey inner life and nobility, but the rendering is more expressive and sketch-like than minutely detailed.
Purpose: One of a small series of studies from a live lion (likely in an Amsterdam menagerie). These were observational exercises capturing the animal's form and character, possibly for use in paintings, etchings (e.g., Adam and Eve, 1638), or symbolic works like a political grisaille featuring a lion.
Comparison of Naturalistic Precision
All three works exemplify Renaissance/Baroque advances in observing and depicting animals from life, moving beyond medieval stylization toward empirical accuracy.
- Highest precision: Dürer's Young Hare stands out for its meticulous, almost hyper-real detail—every strand of fur, subtle color variations, and lifelike illumination make it the most "scientific" and photographically convincing, often called a masterpiece of observational naturalism.
- Leonardo's Head of a Bear achieves remarkable subtlety and tenderness in a constrained medium and format, with precise tonal modeling that feels alive and volumetric. Its naturalism is profound but focused on a fragment rather than the whole animal.
- Rembrandt's Young Lion Resting prioritizes expressive vitality and psychological depth over exhaustive detail; the looser technique captures essence and movement but sacrifices some fine precision for Baroque dynamism.
The most important drawing by Rembrandt to appear at auction in half a century is coming to #SothebysNewYork. https://t.co/pCEzYaM9Uv
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) November 4, 2025
1735-1738 Qianlong Soapstone Seal
2022 SOLD for HK$ 153M by Sotheby's
Qianlong yulan shi bao means Treasure admired by his Majesty the Qianlong emperor. This mark was printed by the emperor with red cinnabar paste on selected masterpieces from the imperial collection of tens of thousands artworks. His grandfather and father had used similar stamps.
When he acceded to the throne in 1735 CE the Qianlong emperor was already a keen connoisseur of arts. He picked out for his own yulan shi bao a 7.8 cm square 10.7 cm high soapstone seal finial from the Kangxi-Yongzheng transition. This piece is carved in the round with a crouching mythical winged lion, fitted with flames on the body and dragon scales on the legs, mothering two small creatures. Its eyes are set with black gemstones.
The terminus ante quem of the face with the six character Qianlong mark is the 3rd year of the reign when the complete set of seals needed for the immediate use of the new emperor went to be complete. The soapstone in intaglio has been slightly worn by its extensive stamping use before the preparation in 1745 of the Shiqu Baoji inventory catalogue of the imperial collection.
Resurfacing in 1965 at auction by Sotheby's, the seal was again out of public view afterwards. It was sold for HK $ 153M by Sotheby's on April 29, 2022, lot 3801. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The paintings bearing the imperial appreciation from that specific seal include among others Travelers among mountains and streams by Fan Kuan, Early spring by Guo Xi and A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains by Wang Ximeng, plus many top level calligraphies.
The Qianlong emperor owned six other yulan shi bao connoisseur seals of various sizes.
When he acceded to the throne in 1735 CE the Qianlong emperor was already a keen connoisseur of arts. He picked out for his own yulan shi bao a 7.8 cm square 10.7 cm high soapstone seal finial from the Kangxi-Yongzheng transition. This piece is carved in the round with a crouching mythical winged lion, fitted with flames on the body and dragon scales on the legs, mothering two small creatures. Its eyes are set with black gemstones.
The terminus ante quem of the face with the six character Qianlong mark is the 3rd year of the reign when the complete set of seals needed for the immediate use of the new emperor went to be complete. The soapstone in intaglio has been slightly worn by its extensive stamping use before the preparation in 1745 of the Shiqu Baoji inventory catalogue of the imperial collection.
Resurfacing in 1965 at auction by Sotheby's, the seal was again out of public view afterwards. It was sold for HK $ 153M by Sotheby's on April 29, 2022, lot 3801. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The paintings bearing the imperial appreciation from that specific seal include among others Travelers among mountains and streams by Fan Kuan, Early spring by Guo Xi and A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains by Wang Ximeng, plus many top level calligraphies.
The Qianlong emperor owned six other yulan shi bao connoisseur seals of various sizes.
1876 Jeune Fille au Chat by Renoir
1990 SOLD for $ 18M by Sotheby's
Jeune Fille au Chat, painted by Renoir in 1876, was sold for $ 18M by Sotheby's on May 17, 1990.
Grok thought :
"Jeune Fille au Chat" (Young Girl with a Cat), painted by Pierre-Auguste Renoir in 1876, is a charming oil on canvas portrait that exemplifies the Impressionist's mastery of light, color, and intimate domestic scenes. The work depicts a young blonde girl in a simple white dress, her hair twisted up, gently holding a tabby cat close to her face against a soft blue wall with subtle floral patterns. This piece captures youthful innocence and spontaneity, themes Renoir often explored in his portraits of children and young women during his early Impressionist period. The cat symbolizes sensuality or domesticity, while the contrasting red and green palette reflects influences admired by contemporaries like Manet.
Grok thought :
"Jeune Fille au Chat" (Young Girl with a Cat), painted by Pierre-Auguste Renoir in 1876, is a charming oil on canvas portrait that exemplifies the Impressionist's mastery of light, color, and intimate domestic scenes. The work depicts a young blonde girl in a simple white dress, her hair twisted up, gently holding a tabby cat close to her face against a soft blue wall with subtle floral patterns. This piece captures youthful innocence and spontaneity, themes Renoir often explored in his portraits of children and young women during his early Impressionist period. The cat symbolizes sensuality or domesticity, while the contrasting red and green palette reflects influences admired by contemporaries like Manet.