Metope from the base of a pedestal or of a monument. Xth century, Trà Kiêu style. Beige sandstone. H. 76.2 cm. The Cleveland Museum of Art. Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund, 1982.146.

This highly stylized upright menacing lion, peculiar to the Trà Kiêu style, has bulging round eyes, a big open mouth showing the upper row of teeth, a tongue covering the lower teeth, and fangs. The short curling horns emerge from the far end of the arch of the eyebrows in decorative low-relief, a legacy from India, and also recalling the Dông Du'o'ng style. Facing the viewer, this spectacular lion stands in an upright aggressive posture, an essentially human-like figure with a lion's head, and half-human and half animal raised front paws. Standing with the left leg slighty raised, it wears a tight fitting garment visible around the neck, at mid-arms, and below the knees. The circular fines across the chest, giving the impression of a breastplate, could be an unfinished mane (Boisselier 1963 a : 202), or a progressive stylization anticipating forthcoming styles (Guillon 1997 : 6). The tail is treated like the tail of a horse. All the Trà Kiêu lions were depicted with apparent genitals (Boisselier 1963 : 202) ; evidently this one has lost his in the course of the centuries.

"Some Remarkable Cham sculptures in American Museums" Natasha Eilenberg, Robert L. Brown

 

Article de "La Lettre de la SACHA" n°6, décember 1999, page 8.