Artifact: Keystone, lion with ring Material: Grey Terra Cotta Identification marks: 162. inscribed in clay on top Dim’s h/w/d: 22-1/2” x 14-3/5” x 10” Weight: 65# Origin: NYC tenement A number of buildings in NYC feature this Roman inspired lion with ring keystone design, both with the integrated top cornice shown and without. The keystones date to circa 1905. Lions depicted with rings in their mouth were popular back in the ancient Roman era and have been used in many different applications besides architectural keystones, such as drawer and cabinet pulls, carvings on furniture and soforth. This particular keystone is identical to a couple I salvaged in NYC in the 1970s/1980s,…
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Architectural Lion Keystone 1901
I used to have one of these lion keystones, the seIIer of this one wants more than I’m open to paying for it, but they accept 0ffers, so I sent mine in, we’ll see. I know they’ve had it quite a while because I bookmarked it in 2016. Dimensions: 23″ high- 12″ wide x 10″ deep. Interestingly enough it’s crisper and in better condition than the one I had back around 1980, it looks like the one I had was either made in a very worn mold or it wasn’t fired properly because it had a “grainy” pitted look. The store emailed that yes, they accepted! funny thing was in…