This column with its lion base is typical of church portals or entrances throughout Italy in the late Romanesque period. However, they were rarely used elsewhere in Europe except under Italian influence. The weathering of the marble indicates that it was originally placed on an outside door. The deep drill marks on the mane and face suggest that it was made in southern or central Italy where Roman carving techniques were revived and imitated with great precision. The drill work enhances the impression of the lion’s ferocity as does the agonized position of the man pinned beneath its paws. The prostrate captive in turn stabs the lion. The portal lions of San Giovanni Fuorcivatas in the town of Pistoia have a similar subject.

The symbolism of the lion in twelfth century art varies considerably. Inscriptions suggest that the lion sometimes represented a diabolical force, but that it could also be given a positive meaning, as in Proverbs (30.30) where the lion is called “the strongest of all animals.” The Physiologus (a Greek natural history text of ca. 150) describes the lion as sleeping with its eyes open and never relaxing its guard. In this sense it may have stood as a symbol for Christ who never relaxed his vigilance in looking after his flock.

Source: Deborah Kahn, "Stylobate Lion" in Eye of the Beholder, edited by Alan Chong, et al. (Boston: ISGM and Beacon Press, 2003): 25.