Elizabethan, 16th Century

With Michael Pashby Antiques, New York.

The present finial has taken the form of a lion sejant erect. He is shown baring his teeth, while his forepaws rest on a shield, which could have once been adorned with heraldic imagery. This sculpture bears a resemblance to another finial, also in the form of a lion, surmounting a newel post on the staircase in Bradninch Manor, Devonshire (constructed circa 1547).

At the time of its construction, the present work would have likely surmounted a throne chair or a grand staircase, the latter of which was just becoming in vogue in the late 16th century.