Antique Stone Fu Lion, China (16394JLM)

Description

Chinese stone weights have been used for millennia as measurement that were standardized with each dynasty. There were also local applications as a non-standardized weight, securing a picnic cloth, keeping a scholar’s calligraphy paper immobile and as a garden accessory. These antique Chinese stone carvings were often auspicious shapes like animals, fruit, and vegetation. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, small fu lions were especially popular in private homes, gardens, or on a home altar as decorative statues, as weights, and to bring a guardian and the blessings of fu into the home. They are also used extensively in feng shui for indoor and outdoor use to enhance the flow of energy. Generally, they were pairs, although sometimes smaller images were lone males. In the Buddhist tradition, even though they are protective guardians, these mythical animals as Buddhist statues were often portrayed as more friendly than fierce. Portrayed as a pudgy benevolent fu lion, it is mostly comical and light from the broad whimsical smile to his open mouth revealing his curled tongue curled between two fangs. His eyes are rolled back, mischievous and are under bushy eyebrows in stylized cloud shapes. This piece is durable in very good condition with definite signs of wear. Antique fu lions are becoming increasingly difficult to find.