King Balthazar French Provincial Crowned Lion Statue, Rust Cast Iron 31cm

A lion in a crown, sitting square at the top of the steps, and the garden suddenly has a doorman.

King Balthazar is a seated lion cast in solid iron and finished in a natural rust patina, wearing a tall fleur-de-lis crown over a double beaded band. He weighs 4.3 kg, which is the difference between cast iron and the resin lions that copy this pose. The casting carries every strand of the mane worked separately, the fold of the muzzle, the tail curled around one haunch and the toes spread on the front paws.

At 31cm he is the size of a table lamp, big enough to hold a doorstep or a gate pier and small enough to lift with one hand. He is built for outdoor life: the iron is heavy enough to stay put in wind, and the rust patina is a finish rather than a fault, so weather deepens him instead of wearing him out.

Why we love it

• ◆The crown, a proper fleur-de-lis crown over two rows of beading, cast as one piece with the head rather than added on
• ◆The weight, 4.3 kg of cast iron, so he sits where you put him through wind and weather
• ◆The rust patina, deep amber where light catches the mane, russet down in the recesses, and it only improves outdoors
• ◆The mane, every strand worked rather than smoothed away, which is what separates a casting from a moulding

How to style it

A lion reads as a guard, so give him a threshold to guard rather than a shelf to sit on.

• Stand him at one side of a doorway or the top of a flight of steps
• Put him on a gate pier or a wall cap where he looks down at you
• Give him a hall console indoors with nothing else on it
• Buy the pair and set them facing each other across an entrance
• Group him with the rest of our garden sculptures

Care & Keeping

Wipe with a soft dry cloth to lift dust out of the mane and the crown. The rust patina is a finished surface and needs no sealing. Place a felt pad or a saucer underneath on pale stone or painted timber, and keep harsh chemical cleaners and abrasive pads away from him.

Because King Balthazar is hand-finished, slight variations in patina, texture, and grain are natural and add to the unique character of each piece. Colour may also vary slightly between screens, all photography is taken in natural light.