CUPID RIDING A LION
P-YS003 Conseiller des Dames et des Demoiselles – Cupid riding a lion
Litho, single sheet, dated 1 March 1866. Round design in red (bleached a bit in the edit and the chart) and black, featuring a winged cupid holding cymbals, riding a running lion. At the bottom a floral filler.
Donated, scanned, edited and charted by Sytske Wijnsma.
Lions symbolize power, courage, nobility, and a slew of other virtues, which makes the lion an oft-recurring symbol on flags and coats of arms. To have this majestic animal used as conveyance by a small cupid-figure with cymbals instead of spurs and reins, shows the triumph of Love over Might and Power. This is a design used as far back as Roman times. There’s a Roman mosaic showing Cupid riding sidesaddle on a lion that has his head lowered in submission. Most designs show the lion standing or walking and Cupid holding a bow.
Many embroidery designs were based on contemporary sculptures or paintings, for instance the very, very popular Day and Night plaquettes by Bertel Thorvaldsen. He also did make a sculpture of Cupid on a lion but that wasn’t the source of this design. I haven’t found a closer match but will keep looking.
The design is in two colors, background and motif, which makes it possible to execute this in filet or filet crochet, not to mention beadwork, diamond painting, tapisserie … No reason to limit yourself to cross-stitch!
As the design is round, the bottom part is filled with a floral design that can be used independently.