Colossal Lion at The British Museum, London

This sculpture depicts a colossal lion with crossed paws. It is sculpted out of marble, made in Miletos, about 600-590 BC. The worn inscription on the lion's left flank shows that it was part of a group of statues. The inscription may be translated 'Thales, Pasikles, Hegesandros, Eubios (?) and Anaxileos, sons of Orion the Founder, dedicated these statues as a tithe to Apollo'. The inscription was defaced shortly after the statue's discover. The relaxed pose of the lion probably rerives from Egyptian representations. This object is part of Scan The World. Scan the World is a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory, through which we are creating a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks and landmarks from across the globe for the public to access for free. Scan the World is an open source, community effort, if you have interesting items around you and would like to contribute, email [e-mail] to find out how you can help.