+China Qing Dynasty 19th Century Reclining Foo Dog Statue Carved In Gray Jade
A reclining Foo Dog from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
Beautiful antique sculpture of a reclined Foo Dog, created during the Chinese imperial, Qing dynasty (1644-1911) period, circa 19th century. This sculpture was carefully carved from natural translucent gray jade, in full reclining three dimensional pose. Exhibiting great details, especially evident in the mane, teeth, claws, hairs and the well defined appendages on the bottom part.
This mythical beast sculpture, have a total weight of 362.6 grams or 1813 carats. Has a measurements of, 103.1 by 57.91 by 49.53 mm (4.06 x 2.28 x 1.95 inches).
Guardian Lions, Foo Dog or Pho Dog, is a traditional chinese architectural ornament. typically made of stone or jade, these decorations are also known as stone lions or "shishi". These statues, have traditionally stood in front or inside of Chinese imperial palaces, imperial tombs, government offices, temples, and the homes of government officials and the wealthy, and were believed to have powerful mythic protective benefits from negative energy. They are also used in other artistic contexts, for example on door-knockers, and in pottery. pairs of guardian lion statues are still common and symbolic elements at the entrances to restaurants, hotels, supermarkets and other structures, with one sitting on each side of the entrance. Since the introduction of this mythical lion symbolism from the indian culture, specially through buddhist symbolism, statues of guardian lions have traditionally stood in front of chinese imperial palaces, imperial tombs, government offices, temples and the home of government officials and the wealthy, from the han dynasty (206 bc-220 ad), and were believed to have powerful mythic protective benefits.
In China the lions are usually depicted in pairs. when used as statuary the pair would consist of a male leaning his paw upon an embroidered ball (in imperial contexts, representing supremacy over the world) and a female restraining a playful cub that is on its back (representing nurture).
The Qing dynasty, officially the Great Qing, was the Manchu-led last dynasty in the imperial history of China. It was proclaimed in 1636 in Manchuria (modern-day Northeast China), in 1644 entered Beijing, extended its rule to cover all of China proper, and then extended the empire into Central Asia. The dynasty lasted until 1912. In orthodox Chinese historiography, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the Ming dynasty and succeeded by the Republic of China. The multiethnic Qing empire lasted for almost three centuries and assembled the territorial base for modern China. It was the largest Chinese dynasty and in 1790 the fourth largest empire in world history in terms of territorial size. With a population of 432 million in 1912, it was the world's most populous country at the time.
Qing Dynasty decorative arts, many craftsmen worked in the imperial court, producing artifacts for palace use: everything from items of jewelry art to beautiful Chinese lacquerware, including lacquered imperial thrones: see, for instance, the Qing Dynasty Imperial Throne (1775-80, Victoria and Albert Museum, London). The Imperial Household Department managed a number of crafts workshops both within the Forbidden City and outside it. Some of the skilled workers and master craftsmen were on permanent duty, like those in the imperial glass factory established in 1696 under the direction of the German Jesuit Kilian Stumpf (1655-1720). Other experts in gemstones carving, horn and jade sculpture and metallurgy were summoned to Beijing for a specific period of service.
Provenance: A private collection in New York city, A private collection in Palm Beach Florida USA.
Collateral: A brown silk cord is attached to the tail of the Foo Dog.
Literature: Chinese Jade From The Collection Of Alan & Simone Hartman, Robert Kleiner, Pressroom, Hong Kong 1996, Pp-63. Jade, Ch'ing Dynastu Treasures, National Museum Of History, exhibition at Taiwan, several authors, 1998 pp-100-104. for similar examples.
Condition: The overall condition of this piece of art is excellent, with some remains of the original brownish-black ink accents.
INVENTORY REF: P0000AEEK/.1111
