Late 11th-12th century AD. A pair of substantial bronze lions probably from the base of a lamp or pricket candlestick, each having a strong body, short legs with shallow paws, large eyes emerging under a voluminous mane, sculpted with full curls with scroll-like endings; a notch at three sides in the middle of the body indicating that the lion served as foot for a larger object. See Swarzenski, G., 'A Romanesque Aquamanile in the Guennol Collection' in Brooklyn Museum Bulletin 4:1-10, New York, 1949; Glass, A., ‘A Medieval Bronze Lion’ in Gesta, Pre-Serial Issue. Annual of the International Center of Romanesque Art Inc., Chicago, 1963, pp.1-3; Gabrieli, F. & Scerrato, U., Gli Arabi in Italia, Milano, 1989. 5.5 kg total, 17cm each (6 3/4"). Property of an Austrian private collector since the 1970s; accompanied by an archaeological report by Dr. Raffaele D’Amato; this lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by AIAD certificate number no.10573-172369. Lions were a favourite subject of Roman art and frequently appeared on cornices and on enriched mouldings. Sometimes they served as elements of waterspouts in the atria of Roman houses. The use of the lion head as a decorative element declined in the west in the 5th century AD, but was revived again in the 9th century in Carolingian art (see the bronze doors at Aachen"). It is probable that a bar connected the two holes of both of these statues and that they were used as a base for a lamp or a pricket candlestick. Swarzenski said that 'the artistic aims of Romanesque sculpture found their purest expression in these small works in metal, ivory, enamel and miniature painting which often surpass the official formal achievements of the monumental arts.' For this specific lot, 5% import VAT is applicable on the hammer price [2] Condition Report Fine condition.