From the Design Room: GRIFFIN, SPHINX or WINGED LION?

From our design workshop we share another piece from our mythology collection, our majestic Winged Lion necklace.  While our inspiration comes from our love of all winged creatures, we have noticed that the line between fantasy and mythology is becoming blurred.

Celestial Winged Lion by Ye Cheng Hong

Digital artists, gaming developers and Hollywood increasingly draw on the world of myth to stimulate our interests. And television series are following suit with shows like HBO’s Game of Thrones (fictional historical fantasy) and the History channel’s Vikings (fact-base Norse mythology fantasy) meeting great success even as smaller networks find audiences for shows like Sinbad (Middle East/Persian mythology) and Atlantis (fictional fantasy based on Greek myth).

Fashion also has tossed repeated nods to mythology this decade. Labels from Alexander McQueen to Karl Lagerfeld have drawn inspiration from Greek mythology and with the success of Dolce & Gabanna’s 2014 Olympus collection, expect to see more mythology-inspired trends popping up in everything from scarves to footwear.

Greek Sphinx

As we researched our Winged Lion design, we were surprised to find that the Sphinx, the Griffin and the Winged Lion are often interchanged, and offer this clarification.

 Sphinx: In Greek mythology the Sphinx has the head of a woman, the body of a lioness, the wings of an eagle and a serpent-headed tale. In Egypt most Sphinx have a human male head and the body of a lion but have no wings. Variations of the Sphinx spring up in historical records of almost every culture. 

Griffin

Griffin: Generally Griffin have the body, tail and back legs of a lion and the head, wings and front talons of and eagle. While popular in Greek art, evidence points to Ancient Persian and Egypt as the originators of this mythical beast. Griffin were known for guarding treasure and priceless possessions. 

Venice film Festival Winged Lion

Winged Lion: These creatures appear just as their namesakes. They are lions with wings, and serve as "streng of the lion" protective talismans. But often the griffin and the winged lion are interchanged. The origin of the winged lion is said to be Persia and Babylonia, where they are called shedu and lamassu and protect households.

But many depictions of these two creatures have the head of a human and refer back to a version of the Sphinx. 

We were able to find images of true Winged Lions in the Lion of Venice, the symbol for Venice, Italy and we also found a World War II protective medal depicting this powerful creature.

When all the research was said and done, we designed our Winged Lion Necklace to be an undeniable classic and graced it with a timeless elegance that hints at the enchanted myths of old and new alike. We really enjoyed creating this piece and feel it offers a unique addition to our Kirk Folly  fantasy jewelry collection.

 Please share your thoughts on this design with us and continue to...

“SPARKLE THE WORLD”

P.S. Don't forget Mother's Day is  next Sunday, May 11, 2014

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