BEHIND BARS, late 19th/early 20th century, an extraordinary pair of oil paintings on a printed ground, of a lion and tiger looking at each other, each enclosed in elaborate cage-like wooden frames with closing bars, picture size 64 x 99cm with frame 103 x 136cm (2) This pair of unusual pictures were probably inspired by the Tower of London animal menagerie which was London's first zoo. From the 1200s to the mid-19th century, the Tower of London housed a menagerie of exotic wild animals, never before seen in London, including lions and a polar bear given as royal gifts. Condition report: Pictures restored and relined, frame and bars restored and repainted.