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Engaged Capital with a Lion and a Basilisk
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
The basilisk is an imaginary animal, half cock and half snake. According to medieval bestiaries, the basilisk could kill merely by its glance. It was commonly held as the symbol of the devil to be trodden down by Christ, first at the moment of his incarnation and then again during the Last Judgment.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineEngaged Capital with a Lion and a Basilisk, 1175–1200. Northern Italy, Emilia (Bologna?), 12th century. Marble; overall: 30.2 x 33 x 29.3 cm (11 7/8 x 13 x 11 9/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1972.20
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