Hittite Portal Lion

Many years ago, I encountered portal lions in the glorious Museum of Anatolian Civilization in Ankara, Turkey. That museum is breathtaking and I would love nothing more than to go back.  

I've always wanted to have portal lions guard my front door. And perhaps one day I will paint a pair in the entrance way. For now, I worked up a small drawing that is a blend of several reference photos.

Most of the portal lions I've seen, both in the museum and online, look like this.

Note the glamourous curls that comprise the mane. This fellow is beautiful, but doesn't seem particularly fierce to me.

This charming basaltic individual has got lovely eyes, is a little fiercer with the tongue sticking out, and has a couple of other stylistic elements I wanted to incorporate into my lion. There is the muzzle, so neat and symmetrical; the elegant treatment of the ears; and the apparent overlapping plates of the mane. I do like the curls very much, but these overlapping plates seem so much more formidable. 

Then we have this pair. They too have relinquished a curled mane in favour of overlapping plates. But more importantly, look at those snarls! These are fierce lions and no one is getting into the door on their watch. Presumably, unless you have a whole roast chicken...two whole roast chickens.

I combined the elements that most appealed to me to generate my own version of a portal lion. May there be more lions in the future.