*** Welcome to piglix ***

Lion of Gripsholm Castle


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; it has a comically unrealistic face.

In 1731, the Bey of Algiers presented King Frederick I of Sweden with a lion. It was one of the first lions in Scandinavia. When alive, the lion was kept in a cage near Junibacken. When the lion died, it was stuffed and mounted, but the taxidermist and the museum-keepers would have been unfamiliar with the appearance of live lions. However, from the side, the setting does resemble a heraldic lion rather than a "real" lion.

In the 21st century, the badly-stuffed lion has been widely mocked.


...
Wikipedia

...