Anna Petrus was a sculptor, industrial designer and designer, active in the early 20th century. She was born Anna Petersson, the daughter of a professor of medicine and a countess, and adopted the surname Petrus while studying at Konsthögskolan. She inherited a modest fortune at the age of 11 when her mother died, enabling her to study in London and travel to Italy and France at an early age.

Anna Petrus achieved her major international breakthrough at the 1925 Exposition Internationale in Paris, where she exhibited objects in pewter and cast iron in the Swedish Grace style. At the time, pewter was considered an outdated material, but its popularity increased as designers such as Petrus recognised its advantages. In 1924, she began collaborating with the newly established Firma Svenskt Tenn. The lion became a recurring motif in Anna Petrus’s work, appearing both as sculptures and as stylised decorations.