Griffin

Cuxa, France, 1130-40
The Cloisters, New York City

This fragment of a tribune In church architecture, an upper story over the aisle which opens onto the nave or choir has a representation of a griffin, a creature with the body of a lion and the head of an eagle. The griffin's standing attitude with the wings raised is called "segreant" in heraldry.

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Photographed at The Cloisters by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.