Carved Ivory Dogs of Fo
You must be a subscriber, and be logged in to view price and dealer details.
Subscribe Now to view actual auction price for this item
When you subscribe, you have the option of setting the currency in which to display prices to $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.
- Ivory - Ivory is a hard white material that comes from the tusks of elephants, mammoth, walrus and boar, or from the teeth of hippopotamus and whales. The ivory from the African elephant is the most prized source of ivory. Although the mammoth is extinct, tusks are still being unearthed in Russia and offered for sale.
Ivory has been used since the earliest times as a material for sculpture of small items, both in Europe and the east, principally China and Japan.
In Asia ivory has been carved for netsuke, seals, okimono, card cases, fan supports, animals and other figures and even as carved tusks.
In the last 200 years in Europe ivory has been used to carve figures, for elaborate tankards, snuff boxes, cane handles, embroidery and sewing accessories, in jewellery and as inlay on furniture. Its more practical uses include being used for billiard balls, buttons, and a veneers on the top of piano keys.
The use and trade of elephant ivory have become controversial because they have contributed to Due to the decline in elephant populations because of the trade in ivory, the Asian elephant was placed on Appendix One of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), in 1975, and in January 1990, the African elephant was similarly listed. Under Appendix One, international trade in Asian or African elephant ivory between member countries is forbidden. Unlike trade in elephant tusks, trade in mammoth tusks is legal.
Since the invention of plastics, there have been many attempts to create an artificial ivory - 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:
Visually similar items
A pair of fine old Chinese ivory carvings of temple lion dogs, each modelled in fearsome pose, seated upon a double lotus plinth, each with a captured ball in their mouths, their shoulders draped with a collar supporting tassels and bells, the male's right
A Chinese blanc-de-chine figure group of hehe erxian, Attributed to He Chaozong baring two impressed seal marks on the back of one figure, 'dehua', and 'He Chaozong yin', 23.5 cm high. Provenance: Private collection Victoria
A Chinese blanc de chine figure group of Guanyin and attendants, mid 17th century, seated on a rockwork platform, flanked by two children, the glaze ivory-white. 15.5 cm high, 8.6 cm wide. Provenance: R & V Tregaskis, November 1991
A Chinese ivory dog of Fo seal. 19th century. Traditionally carved with a curled mane, grimace, and its front paw upon its foe, and with decorative staining and seal underside; with stand. Height 13.5 cm. (on stand)