Pair of Chinese Ceramic Foo Dogs On Square Bases. A matched set, all in a striking white hue with painted brown eyeballs. 

Condition: Minor chip on one base edge, some crackling, and some rubbing to polychrome. 

Dog Size: 14 x 10 x 24 in. 

Base Size: 11 1/4 x 13 1/4 x 10 1/2 in. 

Imperial Guardian Lions are a traditional Chinese architectural ornament whose origins lie deep in much older Indian Buddhist traditions. Typically made of stone, they are also known as stone lions or shishi, and in colloquial English as lion dogs or foo dogs. Usually a pair of highly stylized lions, often one male with a ball which represents the material elements and one female with a cub which represents the element of spirit, they were thought to protect the building from harmful spiritual influences and harmful people that might be a threat. Used originally in imperial Chinese palaces and tombs, the lions subsequently spread to other parts of Asia including Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and the Philippines, as well as guarding homes, hotels, restaurants and more in European, African and American countries with large Asian immigrant populations.

Minor chip on one base edge, some crackling, and some rubbing to polychrome. 

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