An Allegory of Faith: Lions Devouring a Nude Youth [obverse] 

Editor: This striking bronze relief, "An Allegory of Faith: Lions Devouring a Nude Youth" by Master IO.F.F., certainly presents a dramatic scene. The tension is palpable between the youth and the lions. What are your initial thoughts when looking at it? Curator: I see a powerful rendering of inner conflict made manifest through symbolic imagery. The lions, traditionally symbols of strength and royalty, here embody base instincts, tearing at innocence and vulnerability represented by the nude youth. It reminds us of the psychological battle between faith and doubt. What catches your eye first? Editor: Probably the youth’s pose. He seems caught off guard. Curator: Precisely. Notice also the inscription around the edge. The script creates a halo around the allegory unfolding at the centre, as the message blends the ethereal with corporeal doom. There is something deeply unnerving about such proximity, an uneasy association between life and the after-life. What feelings are evoked by this image for you? Editor: Definitely a feeling of helplessness. He is being devoured. I also feel a strange sense of curiosity, almost like I shouldn’t be looking. Curator: It's a testament to the power of symbolic representation and visual storytelling. It echoes throughout the ages, resonating with human nature's ever-present struggle between virtue and vice, knowledge and doubt, safety and death. Editor: I never would have considered the “battle” between those two when first looking at it. That offers an entirely new perspective, thanks! Curator: Visual art grants us an inexhaustible capacity to probe human life; that it might serve as a window for others is its singular magic.