The Winged Lion of Vulci is a

nenfro Nenfro is a volcanic rock, gray tuff or banded trachyte (Brocchi) or leucite phonolite lava (Rosenbusch) with a soft but compact structure, typical of the Viterbo region that the Etruscans used in their sculptures of northern Lazio Cimini hills n ...

sculpture of a lion with wings, carved between 550 BC and 540 BC and discovered in excavations of the

necropoli A necropolis (plural necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'', literally meaning "city of the dead". The term usually im ...

of the

Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy *Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization **Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities ** Etrusca ...

city of

Vulci Vulci or Volci (Etruscan language, Etruscan: ''Velch'' or ''Velx'', depending on the romanization used) was a rich Etruscan civilization, Etruscan city in what is now northern Lazio, central Italy. As George Dennis (explorer), George Dennis wrot ...

. It is now in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

. Inspired by both ancient Greek and ancient Near East models, it is one of many such sculptures discovered in the excavations and intended for the entrances to tombs and funerary chambers.

Sources

*Alain Hus, ''Recherches sur la statuaire en pierre étrusque archaïque'', Bibliothèque des Écoles françaises d'Athènes et de Rome, fasc. 198, Paris, De Boccard, 1961. *http://www.louvre.fr/llv/oeuvres/detail_notice.jsp?CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673383383&CURRENT_LLV_NOTICE%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673383383&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=9852723696500818&baseIndex=2 {{Louvre Museum 6th century BC in the arts Etruscan sculptures of the Louvre