<em>Large Figure of a Lion Dog</em>, 1662-1722. Cloisonné enamel on copper alloy, 17 13/16 × 10 1/2 × 25 in., 42 lb. (45.2 × 26.7 × 63.5 cm, 19.05kg). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Samuel P. Avery, 09.542. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 09.542_view2.jpg)

Large Figure of a Lion Dog, 1662-1722. Cloisonné enamel on copper alloy, 17 13/16 × 10 1/2 × 25 in., 42 lb. (45.2 × 26.7 × 63.5 cm, 19.05kg). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Samuel P. Avery, 09.542. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 09.542_view2.jpg)

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Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

Where was the incense burned on this lion?

The incense would have been placed inside the lion. Cloisonne vessels are hollow on the inside, as the colored enamel is fused to a metal shell.

Elaborate cloisonne incense burners were made and used during the Qing dynasty. A number, including this one, were created for Buddhist temples or shrines.

Oh yes. I see the opened panel underneath. Thanks.

What was this used for and how was it made?

This is one of a pair of lions and it was used as an incense burner in a Buddhist context. It was made in the Kangxi period of Qing Dynasty China.

It's made in the cloisonne technique, which is an ancient metalwork technique that makes use of small, precious metal wires and colorful glass enamels to create brilliant works of art. The metal wires are bent into shapes to create small cells, that kinda create pockets in between the designs, and many coats of finely ground glass enamel are fired into them, eventually producing a coherent whole.

How do these two differ?

The ceramic lion-dog was made in 18th-19th century Japan and the cloisonné lion-dog was made in 17th-18th century China. They both show the same mythical creature in different media by artists of different regions and periods, both modeled off of an interpretation of a lion by people who had likely never seen a real lion before. This imagery was important to Buddhism.

They are made in very different materials and for quite different purposes. The Japanese ceramic is purely decorative and the Chinese cloisonné is an incense burner. The Chinese cloisonné incense burner was originally part of a pair that would have flanked the doorway in a Buddhist temple. There is an opening in the bottom for the incense, and the smoke would have come out through the mouth of the animal.

Why do depictions of lions in East Asian cultures have such round faces and manes that are close to the head, as opposed to the more ferocious depictions with scraggly manes in the West?

Great question! Partially it comes down to what different cultures wanted to convey iconographically. In Buddhist tradition, a pair of lions guards the entrance to the Buddhist religious space. Lions like this one are beyond-animals. They have fantastical elements that heighten their role as protectors, and are an iconic symbol of Buddha.

¿Qué es esto?

Este es una figura de un "león perro". Es uno de un par que haría guardia en un templo budista. ¡Es un incensario también! Cuando colocas el incienso dentro del cuerpo, el humo escapa por la boca.

Large Figure of a Lion Dog

Asian Art

This guardian lion would likely have been one of a pair placed on either side of a doorway or altar in a Buddhist setting and was used as an incense burner. Flames on the tail, running up his sides, and around his mouth all serve to underscore the magical quality of the beast.

MEDIUM Cloisonné enamel on copper alloy

Place Made: China

DATES 1662-1722

DYNASTY Qing Dynasty

PERIOD Kangxi Period

DIMENSIONS 17 13/16 × 10 1/2 × 25 in., 42 lb. (45.2 × 26.7 × 63.5 cm, 19.05kg) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Asian Art

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

EXHIBITIONS

Infinite Blue

ACCESSION NUMBER 09.542

CREDIT LINE Gift of Samuel P. Avery

RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

CAPTION Large Figure of a Lion Dog, 1662-1722. Cloisonné enamel on copper alloy, 17 13/16 × 10 1/2 × 25 in., 42 lb. (45.2 × 26.7 × 63.5 cm, 19.05kg). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Samuel P. Avery, 09.542. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 09.542_view2.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 09.542_view2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph

"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.

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Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.

Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

Where was the incense burned on this lion?

The incense would have been placed inside the lion. Cloisonne vessels are hollow on the inside, as the colored enamel is fused to a metal shell.

Elaborate cloisonne incense burners were made and used during the Qing dynasty. A number, including this one, were created for Buddhist temples or shrines.

Oh yes. I see the opened panel underneath. Thanks.

What was this used for and how was it made?

This is one of a pair of lions and it was used as an incense burner in a Buddhist context. It was made in the Kangxi period of Qing Dynasty China.

How do these two differ?

Why do depictions of lions in East Asian cultures have such round faces and manes that are close to the head, as opposed to the more ferocious depictions with scraggly manes in the West?

¿Qué es esto?

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Large Figure of a Lion Dog

Asian Art

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