Lion's head-shaped entablature

The elaborate in form, decorative entablature typical of medieval culture was placed on the doors of churches. They served a decorative and symbolic function, most often alluding to the image of a lion holding a moving hoop in its open mouth. According to Christian symbolism, the lion's head refers to evil – Satan subdued at the threshold of the House of God. However, the framing that distinguishes the entablature from other known medieval examples changes the symbolism of the presented animal. Medallions made of vines contain representations relating to the work of salvation. The images of Christ, depicted on the cross in the lower medallion and triumphant on the throne as Maiestas Domini at the top of the entablature, are accompanied by representations of Old Testament prophets foretelling the coming of Christ and symbols of the Evangelists, the authors of the history of salvation included in the New Testament, which also recall his second coming as Judge of the World. In this context, the lion symbol placed on the entrance to the church embodies Christ himself, becoming an allegory of the gateway to the Kingdom of Heaven.

The entablature once adorned the doorway of the western portal of the magnificent collegiate church in Kołobrzeg (now the Concathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary). Its composition is reminiscent of the Szczecin entablature funded by Barnim III and the Lübeck Town Hall. These exceptional works are associated with the work of Jan Apengeter, a master active in many Baltic centres in the first half of the 14th century.

The Kołobrzeg entablature is presented in the permanent exhibition Mystery of Light. Medieval art in Pomerania.

Kinga Krasnodębska