But neither the Babylonian nor the Assyrian sculptors confined their attention to human beings, any more than did the bas-relief artists. They also attempted the reproduction of animals, mythical or real as the case may be, with varying degrees of success. The animal that seems to have more or less monopolized their artistic capacity in this direction was the lion. We have already seen the important part played by the lion in the heraldic arms of Lagash, in the coloured decoration of walls, and in the bas-reliefs which adorned the interiors of Assyrian palaces, as well as in the decoration of various objects such as mace-heads and stone bowls, and we are accordingly not surprised to find examples of the lion realized in hard stone and worked in the round. The early specimens are for the most part small, and as a rule only the heads are preserved. The dates of most of these heads are uncertain as there is generally no inscription, but fortunately there are some exceptions. Like the majority of the earlier specimens of Sumerian art, they nearly all come from Tellô and were excavated by M. De Sarzec. One of the best preserved is reproduced in Fig. 36, A. Only one side of the lion’s head has survived, but it is sufficient to demonstrate the success with which the Sumerian sculptor treated his subject. The arrogance and impassive majesty of the lion are here realized more impressively than is the case with the lions of many a European artist; this notwithstanding, the spirit of conventionalism has already crept in as a thief, though it has as yet only made its presence felt in the hem of the garment so to speak. The head itself is entirely unmarred by any deteriorating influence, but the treatment of the mane is in a measure the victim of the force of habit, which, in spite of the common saying that it is “second nature,” is as a matter of fact as unnatural as it can be in its effect upon art. It is formed somewhat after the pattern of the “_kaunakes_” material used in the manufacture of early Sumerian garments. [Illustration: FIG. 36.—A (_Déc. en Chald._, Plate 24, I); B, C (after Heuzey).]