Confronted lions and human figures

On the narrower sides two lions confront each other. Their bodies are turned towards the middle axis, their front paws resting on the console block; their front and rear paws touch each other; their heads, by contrast, are swivelled backwards to rest under the corner volutes. Their open maws seem to be grasping and pulling upwards their twisted tails. This motif is repeated on the broader sides, but with the difference that here the front paws of the lions rest on the head of a human figure, while their rear paws are apparently supported in the background next to the console block.. In both cases the small human figure is shown sitting under the console block. On the north side he has his arms crossed over his breast; his hands are hidden in his sleeves; and his elbows rest on his knees. His large beardless face is topped by a crop of stiff-looking hair, held under a circular bonnet; a straight fringe falls vertically over his forehead. The figure on the south side, by contrast, is characterized by a lavish head of hair with a central parting and by a long beard. His hands are visible; their fingers touch: the thumbs are pushed upwards, while the other fingers point downwards.
The paired lions, with their paws resting on human heads, are also found in the tribunes of the transept of Saint-Sernin in Toulouse (e.g. nos. 203, 281). In Moissac the two variously positioned figures are expressed somewhat more clearly, but their significance remains unexplained.
The impost block is adorned with an original festoon pattern between heart-shaped medallions framed by tendrils. Small mushroom-like images scored with vertical grooves are recessed into these medallions; tendrils spring from their underside.

figure lion