-Lion on Wheels- still bank c. 1920s

This is the A.C. Williams Company's "Lion on Wheels" still bank. With its cast iron materiality, and overall blue finish, the piece projects both a sense of childhood play and industrial fabrication. The lion, an archetypal symbol of power and authority, is here grounded—literally—by the addition of wheels. The composition is striking. The static, regal form of the lion is unexpectedly mobilized. This juxtaposition creates a playful tension. The bright blue color, punctuated by patches of rust, further disrupts expectations, presenting a figure that is at once majestic and slightly decayed. The wheels introduce a semiotic shift, undermining the lion’s inherent symbolism by placing it in a new context of movement and accessibility. Ultimately, this work challenges fixed meanings. It invites us to reconsider how symbols of power can be destabilized through unexpected combinations of form and function, revealing that even the most established signs are open to reinterpretation.