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Samson Drugging the Cat
Woodblock print of a grumpy-faced man in a tunic shoving a lion in the face. The lion's head is turned towards the viewer and he has a goofy look on his face. His tail is held high. The man holds a club in his left hand. Surrounding the lion and man is a tree, an embankment, and foliage. Found at: [The British Museum](https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1882-0311-3008)
Image description: Japanese print with orange background. Print shows various circus performers, including people interacting with horses, an elephant on a barrel, a man standing on a tiger holding a second tiger's mouth open and a third tiger resting on his arm, clowns tumbling, acrobats, and horses on a teeter-totter. Found at: [Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/resource/cph.3g10381/)
Image description: metal statue of a man wrestling with a lion. Found at [The Smithsonian.](https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/hercules-and-nemean-lion-1-15868)
I post a lot of pre-modern-era art from European artists. So, I thought I'd mix it up a bit with this work by Inuit artist [Jessie Oonark](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessie_Oonark). Image description: Work is on paper. Forms are defined by bold swatches of color. The main figure is a side profile of the green head of a wolf, with brown eye and an open mouth filled with point black teeth. In the mouth of the wolf is a man. His purple-brown legs stick out of the wolf's mouth. His torso is visible through the wolf's mouth as a white man-shape. A smaller animal's head--maybe another wolf-- is defined by an orange outline. The orange animal has its nose touching the throat of the green wolf. Its teeth are also showing. Below the artwork is the title, caption, and signature of the artist. Found at: [Montreal Museum of Fine Arts](https://www.mbam.qc.ca/en/works/20391/)
Image description: a white-haired man in a blue coat with stars on it and red/white striped pants (Uncle Sam) looks inside a horse's mouth while a man in a white coat looks on. The white coat man is labeled Aldritch. The horse is labeled "Central Bank". The horse's teeth are labeled "Wall Street Interests". Found at: [Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2011647532/)
Image Description: a man with a very large, dark moustache stands in a cage surrounded by 3 lions and 2 tigers. The man stares straight at the viewer. The man wears what looks like plate mail on his torso, with fancy gold shoulder thingies, red sleaves, a short red skirt, white tights, and fancy bejeweled boots. His hat is red with a blue feather. The big cats are all in fierce poses. A maned lion stands with his paws on the man's shoulder. The man holds open the other maned lion's mouth. Found at: [Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/resource/pga.03749/)
Image description: etched political cartoon. A lion is on a wheeled pedestal labeled "British". A man in a suit and befeathered top hat twists the lion's tail. A bald man in a suit twists its head. The lion's mouth is open. Behind the men and lion is a storefront labeled "furs". A man watched open-mouthed through the window. Next to the cartoon is a colored registry thingy, for calibrating colors. A detailed explanation of the cartoon is at [HarpWeek](https://elections.harpweek.com/1884/cartoon-1884-medium.asp?UniqueID=63&Year=1884) (and TBH their image of the cartoon is clearer than the one I uploaded. I chose the LOC one because the permissions were clearer). *In summary:* In American politics, the Republican presidential nominee and the Greenback-Labor nominee were both critical of Great Britain (represented by the lion). Found at: [Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/resource/cai.2a13958/)
Image description: woodblock carved into the form of the Biblical Samson holding open a lion's mouth. The carving is fine and the wood is dark with the ink used in printmaking. This is the woodblock used to make prints similar to the one previously posted, https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/892435 . Found at: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/336211
Image description: 2-column handwritten text. Small doodle of Samson holding open a lion's mouth, in the upper right corner. Found at: https://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/illmanus/roymanucoll/m/011roy000001b12u00080000.html
Image description: statue of Samson attempting to open the mouth of a lion whose mouth is firmly shut. Found at: https://www.bildindex.de/document/obj20453994
Image description: black metal candlestick. Samson sits on top of a lion and holds its mouth open. A column to hold a candle comes out of his back. Found at: Candlestick: Samson and the Lion - Rijksmuseum, Netherlands - Public Domain. https://www.europeana.eu/item/90402/BK_16915
www.flickr.com
Image description: Image is straight up at a ceiling. There is a center circular medallion with a naked man sitting on a lion. The man is holding the lion's mouth open. There are two other lions partly in frame--one left and one right of the scene. Around the circle is gold and red braid. Outside of the circle are filigree decorations. Overall colors are red, white, blue, gold. Found at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/dun_deagh/7274023374/
Image description: Item is an unglazed terra cotta tire. It looks a bit dirty or sooty, but is clearly still yellow-tan. It depicts a 3d scene of a man with long hair, a hat with big feather, and tunic. The man is sitting on a lion and holding open a lion's mouth. Behind the man and lion is a stone (or brick) wall about waist high. Above it is an archway. Outside the archway is a floral decoration. Found at: [Met Museum](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/469944)*___*
According the the Met Museum, coconuts were exotic to Europeans and a cup made from a coconut could be used to neutralize poisons. Image description: Tall silver and coconut goblet with lid. The bowl is made of most of a coconut, the base, stand, and lid of the goblet are made of silver. The coconut is engraved with biblical scenes, including Samson holding open a lion's mouth. Cherubs look on and there's filigree. There are also silver rams and roman? soldiers connecting the silver base and the top of the goblet. Found at: [The Met](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/193595)
Image description: a statue of Samson (with stylized hair in coils?) holding a lion by its lower jaw and its tail. The lion is suspended in the air. Image is black and white photograph. In the background is a flag with a spoked wheel on it. Note: statue was in the "transportation" area of the NY World's Fair, in front of the Ford building. Other flags included air planes, propellers. Related images: [NYPL: scrapbook page of the fair](https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47dd-70e9-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99) (where you get a better view of the flag in the background--them emblem is a wheel, not the swastika I worried it was)  [NYPL--image of lady in 1930s garb standing on the statue. The statue is huge.](https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/5e66b3e8-d6db-d471-e040-e00a180654d7)*___* Found at: [New York Public Library](https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/5e66b3e8-f56b-d471-e040-e00a180654d7)
Image description: Oil painting framed in an ornate floral frame. The painting is of a black-haired woman sitting on a wooden travel trunk or bench. Next to her is a lion cub. Another cub is cradled in the woman's lap and she bottle-feeds it. In the background there is a cage on wheeled (like for an old-timey traveling circus) with three adult lions in it--2 female and 1 male. The adult lions are watching the cubs. On the ground nearby is a black metal contraption that might be a food bowl on an arm, so that the adult lions can be fed from outside the cage, and the bowl retrieved. Found at: https://kunkelfineart.de/en/artwork/meyerheim-paul-feeding-the-cubs/
Image description: painting of a marble statue of Samson holding open a lion's mouth. This is a detail from this painting:  Found at: [wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgin_and_Child_with_Canon_van_der_Paele). In collection of the [Groeningemuseum](https://collectie.museabrugge.be/en/collection/work/id/0000_GRO0161_I).
Note: Image is cropped to just Samson and the Lion. Image description: Medieval illustration, from a book. On the left half, Samson (long haired, blond) sits atop a lion. He holds open the lion's mouth. The lion's tongue sticks out. On the right half, slightly closer to the viewer, are an older man and woman. They're clad in long green and red robes. The woman has a white head-covering. The man has a green head-covering. They're both looking away from Samson and the lion. The woman's hands are clasped in prayer. Found at: [The New York Public Library](https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47da-e6c3-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99)
Image description: this object is an ivory comb. It has two sets of teeth, separated by an engraved scene. The set above the scene has finely spaced teeth. The set below the scene has wider teeth. The wider teeth have been damaged, and re-attached with silver. The scene is of Samson holding open a lion's mouth. Around him are animals--a sheep, a monkey, birds. The scene is surrounded by vines. Found at: [Louvre](https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010096623)
Image description: Samson (a long-haired blond man wearing a red robe or tunic) sits astride a lion with his right leg kicking out. Samson holds open the lion's mouth with both hands. The lion braces himself against the frame of the image. The background is a flat brown or muddy gold, with rolling greenness at the feet of the lion. Cropped from an image of four miniature scenes. The full-page image is available at below link. Found at: [New York Public Library](https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47da-e9b7-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99)~___~
Image description: Woodblock print? of a wooded scene. In the foreground, there is a man straddling a lion. The lion is on its back, with hind paws kicking in the air. The man is wearing a robe and is holding open the lion's jaws. In the background are two older figures, a man and a woman. There is a footpath and a simple bridge. Found at: [The British Museum](https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1857-1212-114)
Image description: stereoscopic print (two photographs taken slightly offset, such that you could look at them through a special viewer and get a 3d effect, like an old-timey Viewmaster). Orange border around the image. The black and sepia print shows a statue of a bare-chested man in a robe, standing astride a recumbent lion. The man holds open the lion's mouth. The statue is on a lawn, with trees and a pathway in the distance. Found at: [The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography Collection, The New York Public Library. "ohn Hoey's Garden, Long Branch." The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1875. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e1-4b49-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99](https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e1-4b49-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99 )
Image description: a crude line drawing of a stick figure giving a yellow oval to a three-headed creature (probably meant to be a dog). Source: I asked my partner to help find a picture of Psyche and Cerberus. Partner helped.
Image description: Psyche hesitantly stands in front of Cerberus. She wears a blue skirt and a plum blouse, with a golden pattern. Her headdress is white with red trim. She holds a blue box and two rolls. Cerberus is depicted as a red-tongued three-headed black beast. The background looks like a body of water. The foreground is nondescript and rocky. There are hints of a cave opening at the borders of the image. Found at: https://www.artrenewal.org/artworks/psyche-and-cerberus/edmund-dulac/6474
Image description: Round plate. Colors are grey, black, and gold. Psyche feeding Cerberus. Cerberus is either vomiting or breathing flames. Cerberus to the left with stone building in flames, to the right, three women weaving. The ground is stony. There is a tree in the background. Plate border is gold foliage with 4 white ovals inset, with human figures standing or laying. Found at [British Museum](https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/H_1885-0420-13)
Image description: Engraving of a woman with curly hair in an updo, wearing a robe or peplos. She hold a cup in her right hand and leans down to feed a roll to a three-headed dog. The dog's left head looks downard, the middle head takes the treat, and the right head looks uneasy or wary. Behind the dog is a doorway and a fallen column. Found at: [The Metropolitan Museum of Art](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/653181?ft=cerberus&offset=0&rpp=40&pos=29 ) Note: Image is cropped to focus on Psyche and Cerberus. Full image is available at above link. #cerberus #psyche
Image description: porcelain figures of a lion with a man crouched, barefoot, on top of the lion. The man wears a robe decorated with dots and circles. The lion is struggling to get away. The man is holding open the lion's mouth with his hands. The porcelain has been broken and repaired. Found at: MFABoston, https://collections.mfa.org/objects/53479/hercules-and-the-nemean-lion?ctx=39705d6b-a134-4e70-b578-a1f56f33fbb0&idx=18
I'm going to start adding image descriptions going forward--it's a good habit to get into. Feel free to add your own image descriptions in the comments.
Image description: Detail from an illustrated manuscript. A man in a red robe with long brown hair, forked brown beard, and a pink cap straddles a lion. He holds open the lion's mouth. The lion's tongue sticks out, like it's saying "aaaah". There are trees all around. There are two men in the trees watching what's going on. There is a shiny gold border around the scene. Found at: https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/107TXV#full-artwork-details
Image description: bronze sculpture. A small man with long hair sits atop a large lion. The size disparity is immense. The man gently holds open the lion's mouth, one hand on the top lips and one hand on the bottom. The lion looks a bit confused at the situation. Found at: https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/uAHLe0IGtOmTdg?childAssetId=iwFZB7A2gbuTmA&hl=en It is currently housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City--their page about is at https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/460882 . A *aquamanile* is a jug or ewer in the form of 1 or more animals.
Found at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Samson-Peterhof.jpg . The original statue was looted from Saint Petersburg, Russia, by Nazis during WWII and a replacement was installed in 1947.
Samson and his lion again. Image description: flat medieval drawing. Samson sits astride the lion. The lion faces right. He holds open the lion's mouth. Samson's right leg is between the hind legs of the lion. His left leg is over top of the lion, bent at the knee, with the foot on the right side of the lion. Sidenote: It's not a comfortable pose. My partner and I tried it out (for art science!) and it's awkward and unstable. Found at http://tudigit.ulb.tu-darmstadt.de/show/Hs-2505/0109 , page 55r. (The linked image is worth seeing--In addition to Samson and his lion, there is a crowned man who seems almost happy to be stabbed through the stomach.)
Found at [St. Louis Art Museum](https://www.slam.org/collection/objects/33203/)
Found at [St. Louis Museum of Art](https://www.slam.org/collection/objects/5142/).
Found at https://www.mbam.qc.ca/en/works/24549/
Jason and the Dragon, c. 1663/1664 by Salvator Rosa. [Jason](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason) (of Jason and the Argonauts fame) canonically drugged the dragon guarding the golden fleece, with a sleeping potion. Found at: https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.53455.html
Found at: https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.43917.html
Image from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Statue_of_Lam-ang_at_Kapurpurawan_Rock_Formation_sunset.jpg Lam-ang is the protagonist of the [Biag ni Lam-ang](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biag_ni_Lam-ang), an epic poem of the Ilocano people of the Philippines [English translation of the poem.](https://www.kapitbisig.com/philippines/english-version-of-epics-mga-epiko-the-life-of-lam-ang-an-iloko-epic-complete-text-in-english_934.html )