Sketches of Lions and Antelopes c. early 18th century

Curator: The Harvard Art Museums hold this intriguing drawing, "Sketches of Lions and Antelopes," by an anonymous artist. Editor: It's strikingly raw. The composition, with those sketched lions looming over the antelopes, feels almost like a power diagram. Curator: Indeed. The visible layering of the sketches reveals the artist's process. One can imagine them studying the ways animals were produced as social objects. Editor: How do you mean? Curator: This piece could function as a preliminary sketch for something larger; the lions could have been used in later productions of textiles or mosaics. Editor: That's interesting. The act of sketching and redrawing, mediated via public image as a material act itself, might also have served as a way of understanding natural power dynamics within the socio-political sphere. Curator: Exactly! I see both the artist's exploration of form and a glimpse into how these animal figures functioned within society. Editor: A raw yet illuminating intersection of form, function, and meaning.