Lion of Gripsholm Castle
Appearance
The Lion of Gripsholm Castle is a notable example of bad taxidermy, in the museum of Gripsholm Castle, in Sweden. The lion is badly stuffed; and has a comically unrealistic face.[1]
In 1731, the Bey of Algiers presented King Frederick I of Sweden with a lion, one of the first lions in Scandinavia.[2] When alive, the lion was kept in a cage near Junibacken. When the lion died, it was stuffed and mounted; however, the taxidermist and the museum-keepers had never actually seen a lion before, and did not know how they were supposed to look.[3] As a result, the lion was anatomically inaccurate, with a notably poorly modeled face.
In the 21st century, the badly-stuffed lion has been widely mocked.[4][5][6][7][8][9]
References
- ^ "Hilariously Bad Lion Taxidermy". Buzzfeed. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
- ^ "Le lion empaillé de Gripsholm". La Boite Verte. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
- ^ "The Greatest Castles in Sweden: Uncovering Magical Swedish Castles". Exploring Castles. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
- ^ "Bad taxidermy: The lion at the castle of Gripsholm". Doobybrain. Archived from the original on 9 March 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
- ^ "The lion of Gripsholm's castle". Retrieved 9 March 2014.
- ^ "The stuffed lion of Gripsholm's Castle". Archived from the original on 9 March 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
- ^ "18th Century Taxidermy Unkind to Noble Lion". Retrieved 9 March 2014.
- ^ "The Lion of Gripsholm Castle". Mentalfloss. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
- ^ "Lejonet på Gripsholms Slott". Facebook. Retrieved 9 March 2014.