Nepalese Temple Figure of Snow Lion

A bell at the throat, jaws wide open. This lion makes no attempt at stealth.

This temple figure of a snow lion is cast bronze, from Nepal, 20th century. Temple figures of the snow lion, a protective emblem across Himalayan Buddhist art, were set up in and around shrines to guard the sacred space, and its roar is sometimes likened to the voice of the teachings. Here it sits upright on a stepped, lotus-edged plinth, jaws wide, tongue out, eyes staring white. A mane of tight curls falls behind the head, and gold-toned flourishes sweep from chest and haunch. A chain and bell hang at the breast. Twenty-two and a half inches high.

It has been mid-roar for a good while now.