What Is a Bicorporate Lion? Understanding the Two-Bodied Design
A bicorporate lion is a lion pictured with two bodies sharing one head. The unfamiliar word describes that arrangement. Once you know what to look for, a design that first appears tangled becomes much easier to read.
It is the term used in the name of BHJ's Hertfordshire Early Medieval Bicorporate Lion Pendant. Here is a simple way to understand the motif before looking more closely at historical animal designs.
Start with the head, then follow the bodies
Begin at the shared head and trace each side outwards. Follow one body to its legs and tail, then return to the head and repeat the exercise on the other side. This is often easier than trying to understand the whole outline at once.
Two animals placed beside each other are a different arrangement. The feature to look for in a bicorporate design is the shared head. Compare the outline at normal viewing size with an enlarged photograph; each view can reveal something different.
A motif with a long history
Art historian Etsuko Zakoji's study, Bicorporates on Coins: Reflections on their Occurrence and Use, follows double-bodied creatures across ancient and medieval art. Examples appear on small objects as well as in sculpture, including medieval church carvings. Lions are one member of this wider family of composite creatures.
Does the lion have one definite meaning?
The same study discusses several interpretations, including protective and religious associations in particular settings. These are interpretations of specific examples, not a universal translation for every double-bodied animal.
For an individual piece of jewellery, its date, find record and surviving details matter. A wider history of the motif cannot establish who owned that particular object or what it meant to them.
Looking at a historical pendant
When choosing a pendant, give yourself two different views. First, look closely at the detail that interests you. Then step back and consider the overall outline: is this a shape you would enjoy wearing?
Read the product description alongside the photographs. Keep the original artefact, the modern reproduction and any explanatory illustration distinct. If you are buying a gift, the simple explanation “two bodies sharing one head” is a useful starting point for talking about the design.
Explore the historical pendant collection, including the Hertfordshire Early Medieval Bicorporate Lion Pendant, and read how BHJ creates its historical reproductions.