Black and grey realism tattoo of a lion's head wearing a jewelled crown, placed on the calf.

Crowned lion head on a lower leg

Realism · Calf · Black and grey · Photo

A lion's face with a full mane gazes forward, topped by a detailed jewelled crown with a cross finial. The lion's fur and whiskers are built from fine layered shading, with strong contrast in the eyes and nose. The tattoo is entirely black and grey and fills the frame against a softly blurred indoor background.

Realism Calf Lion Crown Lion head Mane Cross

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A story inspired by this tattoo · fiction

Dear Tom,

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The lion over the north door has finally got its crown back. Somebody from the trust had it regilded in the spring, though you'd never know from the car park, where the lamps only reach the second floor. I stand under it at ten past two most nights with a flask going cold, and I've decided it looks like it's listening to the ambulances.

You'd have laughed at me last week. Mrs Adair in bay six asked whether the lion was a real one, and I told her it was carved in 1887 by a man who had never seen one, which is why its face looks so worried about everything. She said it was the most sensible thing anyone had said to her since Tuesday. Then she asked me to hold her hand while the monitor did its tune, so I did, and nobody needed to be a king about it.

I keep thinking about what you said at Dad's, that a crown is only a thing people agree to look up at. I didn't answer properly then. Maybe the stone lion has the right idea. It keeps its eyes level over everyone coming through the doors, and it never asks anybody to pick a side.

Come up and see it before the scaffolding goes back. Bring your own flask. The night sister says the mane catches the best of the light after midnight, when the car park goes orange and the carved fur looks almost like smoke.

Your brother, Danny