# Lioness

- Date: c. 2100 BCE
- Medium: copper alloy, lost-wax cast
- Classification: Sculpture
- Dimensions: Overall: 4.2 x 3.1 x 13.3 cm (1 5/8 x 1 1/4 x 5 1/4 in.)
- Culture: Sumerian, Iraq
- Credit line: Bequest of Mrs. Severance A. Millikin
- Museum: [Cleveland Museum of Art](https://clevelandart.org/art/1989.253)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1989.253/1989.253_web.jpg
- Who can see it: Little Ones profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

Crouched in the stance of a hunter stalking its prey, this diminutive lioness possesses the latent power of a predator about to strike. In the ancient Near East, the ferocity and strength of lions was often associated with rulers and gods through symbolic imagery.