What animal-shaped automaton did Leonardo da Vinci design for a French royal celebration?

Leonardo da Vinci designed a mechanical lion for a French royal celebration.

The automaton was reportedly made for King Francis I and presented in 1515. Contemporary accounts say that the lion could move forward and open its chest, revealing fleurs-de-lis, the stylized lilies associated with the French monarchy.

The machine combined theatrical spectacle with clockwork-style mechanisms. Leonardo frequently studied animal anatomy and movement, making an animal-shaped automaton a natural extension of both his artistic and engineering interests.

The lion is sometimes confused with Leonardo’s robotic knight, another famous automaton attributed to him. The knight was human-shaped and reconstructed from drawings in the 20th century; the mechanical lion was an animal-shaped ceremonial machine associated with the French court.