When Johann Peter Melchior was appointed master sculptor at Nymphenburg in 1797, his great reputation preceded him. He had already successfully shown how well he could work with porcelain at the Frankenthal and Höchst manufactories. For Nymphenburg, in addition to numerous portrait medallions and portrait busts of members of the royal family and contemporary figures, he also created animal sculptures. They include this reclining lion, with its Classicist-influenced shape and contours.