The Lion on Kekusheva’s Mansion: The Story of the Sculpture above Ostozhenka

The lion sculpture on the gable of 21 Ostozhenka Street was installed on 7 December 2017. Lev Kekushev conceived it for his family's early 20th-century mansion, but the original sculpture disappeared. The statue visible from the street reflects the architect's original vision; it was added during restoration.

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Where is the lion on the Kekusheva Mansion?

The lion stands on the tall gable of the main façade at 21 Ostozhenka Street, Building 1. GlavUpDK under the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which manages the mansion, gives its installation height as approximately 15 metres. The freestanding sculpture is visible above the roof.

The family mansion was built in 1901–1903. The expert assessment report identifies the house as the architect's property, but historian Alexei Alpatov cites a statement submitted to a bank on 24 October 1901 in which Anna Ionovna Kekusheva describes the property as her own. Next door, at 19 Ostozhenka Street, Building 1, stands a separate rental apartment building; take care not to confuse the two addresses when looking for the sculpture. Both buildings are listed separately in state historical and cultural heritage assessment.

What role does the sculpture play on the façade?

GlavUpDK describes the lion as a symbol of Kekushev's work and notes that the architect used this motif in other designs. On the family mansion, this emblem was placed at the top of the main façade. The fact that his name, Lev, means 'lion' suggests that the figure can be seen as a personal emblem. In a general-interest article by GlavUpDK there is a remark attributed to Kekushev: he supposedly called the lion a good guard and made a play on his own name. No source is given for this remark, so it does not establish how the architect himself explained his choice of figure.

A tall gable crowns the main façade, while sections of varying heights and a turret define the mansion's silhouette. Kekushev's lion on Ostozhenka became a prominent feature of the family home. This interpretation is based on the figure's position and the building's history; the documents consulted contain no written explanation by the architect.

What is known about the original sculpture?

The original statue disappeared in the early 20th century; the date and circumstances of its loss are unknown. The expert assessment report describes the former sculpture as three metres tall and places it on the pediment of the main street-facing façade. GlavUpDK gives this timeframe for its disappearance in a 2018 announcement. A separate article by the organisation links the disappearance to Kekushev's departure from the house, but cites no document that would substantiate this explanation.

The maker of the original figure has not been conclusively identified. In the historical background section of the 2021 expert assessment report the sculpture is attributed to the Austrian architect Otto Wagner without reference to a primary document. Alexei Ochnev of GlavUpDK explained, that the recreated figure was modelled on the lions on the bridge at the Nussdorf weir, built to Wagner's design. This is evidence about the restorers' work, rather than the maker of the lost Moscow sculpture. An archival photograph helps establish its appearance, but not the maker's name.

How did the lion return to the façade?

Restorers recreated the lion sculpture on Ostozhenka from an archival photograph and installed it on 7 December 2017. The Moscow Department of Cultural Heritage’s report for 2017 gives its length as 3.2 metres and describes the figure as copper. According to GlavUpDK, its approximate dimensions are 3 × 2 m and the material is bronze. Public sources differ on the metal used and provide no technical description of the alloy. The expert assessment report records the exact installation date. GlavUpDK explains that the structure must withstand the weather without placing an excessive load on the building.

Restoration of the mansion continued in 2017–2018, with specialists also restoring the façades' colour and lost decorative features. GlavUpDK announced the completion of the entire project on 31 October 2018, after the lion had been installed. Andrei Filippov's photograph dated 22 July 2018 shows the recreated figure; the photograph is published under the CC BY 2.0 licence with attribution to the photographer.

What does this detail reveal about the history of the place?

The lion connects Kekushev's early 20th-century family home with the restoration of 2017. The expert assessment report explicitly states that the original sculpture has not survived and records the installation date of the new one. A photograph of the present façade therefore shows a restored silhouette, but cannot serve as evidence of the original's material or condition. The archival photograph helped restorers recreate the figure's form in its former position.

The Kekusheva Mansion is included on the itinerary of the Ostozhenka and Prechistenka tour. At No. 21, simply look up at the gable of the main façade to spot the figure and recall why its original conception and the sculpture visible today date from different times. In the next instalment of 'Moscow in One Detail', we will explore another detail of the city that is easy to walk past.

Sources

1. GlavUpDK: Kekusheva’s Mansion at 21 Ostozhenka
2. State Historical and Cultural Expert Assessment Report on Ostozhenka, 2021
3. GlavUpDK Completed the Reconstruction of Kekusheva’s Mansion, 31 October 2018
4. Moscow Department of Cultural Heritage Public Report for 2017
5. GlavUpDK: The Mystery of the Bronze Lion
6. Andrey Filippov: Moscow, Ostozhenka 21 lion statue, 2018, CC BY 2.0
7. ‘The Golden Mile’: A Tour of Ostozhenka and Prechistenka
8. Alexey Alpatov: Owners of the ‘House with a Lion’ on Ostozhenka, Moscow Journal, 2024
9. Svetlana Yankina: ‘The Lion and Eagles Have Returned to Ostozhenka’, The Art Newspaper Russia, 2018
10. Moscow 24: Moscow Department of Cultural Heritage press office on the installation of the lion on 7 December 2017