Recumbent Lion

The third shape:

In this shape the recumbent lion appears in a naturalistic relaxed pose with its head turns to the side, the front paws are crossed over each other. The oldest example of this shape is dated back to the reign of Thutmosis III (18th dynasty). There is a granite statue of a recumbent lion, is dated back to this period and preserved in the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, Maryland (Pl. 9). This new technique of the recumbent statues was only limited to the statues of the guardian lions, as the statues of the sphinx and the other recumbent animals preserved their old shape.

This shape of the lion statues was used later by the Pharaohs of the same dynasty. There are two red granite lions, preserved in the British Museum (EA 2),
The statue is preserved now in the Louvre museum in Paris (Pl. 11). Another lion statue of the same shape is preserved in the Vatican Museum in Rome, and is inscribed with the name of Nectanebos I (30th dynasty). This statue could probably adorn the same previous temple of Saqqara (Pl. 12). A limestone statue of a lion with the same pose preserved in the Egyptian Museum at Turin (866 RCGE 19488) and is dated back to the Late period (Pl.
This shape can be seen in the Mesopotamian civilization, as it appeared on the amulets that were found at Tehran, Persia from before 3000 BC. For example, there is a Lapis Lazuli amulet of a recumbent double-faced sphinx, preserved in the British Museum (Inv. 128866) (Pl. 18). This shape became very familiar in the Neo-Sumerian period (equivalent to the Middle kingdom in Egypt). This can be seen in a statuette of a recumbent Lamassu , dates back to the Neo-Sumerian period, and preserved in the Louvre Museum (AO 2752) (Pl. 19). The animal is shown lying, its head turned to the side and its tail underneath its right hoof. On its head is the divine headdress with three pairs of horns. It has a man's face with large elongated eyes, a beard covering half its cheeks and joining with the mustache before cascading down over its breast, where it ends in small curls, and long ringlets framing its face. The ears, however, are a bull's. There is a small group of these recumbent bulls dating from the Neo-Sumerian period (around 2150-2000 BC), one of which is inscribed with the name of Gudea, the Second Dynasty ruler of Lagash.
A shape of a recumbent lion with a head turns to the side and stretched forelegs parallel to each other appeared also on some Greek recumbent lion statues date back to the 6th century BC. The same shape appeared on lion statues in ancient Turkey; such as the lion statue that was found at