Lion of Judah

And a fine photography job I did on the Lion of Judah. Eh, it was raining, and some hustlers were yelling at me not to take the photo. They probably wanted to charge me for the privilege. Who knows? This statue is a national symbol of Ethiopia and predates the Italian invasion of the 1930s. During the occupation, Italy tore it down and buried it; apparently it was dug up after the occupation and perched atop this pedestal. A stamp in this statue’s shape appears at the beginning of printed collections of Ethiopian laws dating from the Emperor’s time. It is a symbol of the country.

Below is the modern Lion of Judah that was erected in the ’60s and was thought quite progressive for Ethiopia. I am fond of the filthy statue. It’s cool and unique.