Lion sculpture back home after 120 years

ISTANBUL - Anadolu Agency

The sculpture of the lion on a snake is owned by the Dolmabahçe Palace but had been at the Kalender Military Officer’s Club for 120 years. Now it is back.

A sculpture depicting a lion on a snake has been put back in its original place at the Dolmabahçe Palace after 120 years. The sculpture, owned by the palace, had been at the Kalender Military Officer’s Club. The sculpture was returned to the National Palace yesterday at a ceremony.

Speaking at the ceremony, Beylerbeyi Palace Director Mehmet Ekinci said that among 22 sculptures that were made in the Sultan Abdulaziz era in Paris by sculptor Pierre Rouillard and his team, 12 were bronze and 10 were marble. The sculpture of the lion on a snake were taken to the Beykoz Pavillion in the Ottoman times, then to the Harbiye Military Museum and to the Kalender Military Officer’s Club in Istanbul’s Sarıyer during the Republic-era, said Ekinci, and continued:

“As a result of our work, we received the sculpture from there after having its replica completed. Today, its replica was placed here and the original sculpture was put in its place in history. Since the sculpture has a twin, it is now next to its twin. Our other lion sculpture is in Hasbahçe, in the coastal side of the Dolmabahçe Palace. It depicts a lion on a crocodile. The historical sculpture of a lion on a snake dates back to 150 years ago. We can say that it has finally found its own place after 120 years.”

Ekinci said they would continue working for sculptures, adding, “So far 12 out of these 22 sculptures are now at the Beylerbeyi Palace. One is at Dolmabahçe Palace and eight others are outside of the palace. One of them is the famous bull sculpture in Kadıköy. We may carry out a different work for it. The other is the ‘freedom horse’ in front of the Sakıp Sabancı Museum Atlı Köşk. Another is in front of Divan Hotel in Taksim; it depicts a poor hunted deer.”

He noted that they held talks and asked for the sculptures to return to their original places. “When we receive the sculptures, their replicas will be put in these places,” he added.