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Identify this item?

Identify this Mystery Item?

The majority of museums hold mystery items in their collections. These are artefacts that have defied attribution and provenance for one reason or another.

This remarkable slip-painted pottery lion was excavated at Aldgate in the 1930s and erroneously displayed in John Ward’s Folk Park (1934-1945) as a medieval aquamanile.

Its tail would have curled up over its back and its eyes were probably inlaid.  The lion stands approximately 120 mm high and is 110 mm long.

We would be delighted to hear from anyone with an identification or parallel artefact.

Email: director@abbeymuseum.asn.au