Rare Pair of Ormolu Mounted Fo Dogs

• Ormolu - Ormolu was popular with French craftsmen in the 18th and 19th century for ornamental fittings for furniture, clocks and other decorative items. True ormolu is gilt bronze, that is bronze that has been coated with gold using a mercury amalgam. Due to the health risks associated with using mercury, this method of creating ormolu was discontinued in France in the 1830s. A substitute was developed consisting of about 75% copper and 25% zinc, however it was inferior to the bronze version. It was often lacquered to prevent it tarnishing.
• Circa - A Latin term meaning 'about', often used in the antique trade to give an approximate date for the piece, usually considered to be five years on either side of the circa year. Thus, circa 1900 means the piece was made about 1900, probably between 1895 and 1905. The expression is sometimes abbreviated to c.1900.
• Foo Dogs - Foo Dogs, also known as "Fo Dogs", "Fu Dogs", and " Buddhist lions" are the Chinese guardian lions that have traditionally stood in front of Chinese Imperial palaces and tombs, government offices, and the homes of the influential are believed to have powerful mythic protective benefits.
  
  They are a popular motif in decorative arts, especially ceramics and garden statuary, where they are depicted in pairs, comprising of a male resting his paw upon an embroidered ball, representing supremacy over the world, and a female restraining a playful cub, representing the nurturing properties of the female.

This item has been included into following indexes:

• Chinese ceramics, decoration - blue and white, other 772
• Oriental temple dogs - fo / foo / temple dogs 211