Busacca Gallery

Museum Quality Clay Dogs, Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) Bold and lively painted standing dogs. These two slightly oversized sculptures have one of the most expressive and finely done facial features of all of this form we have ever encountered. As you can see, scarcely gives a true impression of of the scale. They are not TL tested, we can get a Certificate of Authenticity for these works for a fee, from Oxford, England if needed. I have access to one of the top importers from China. Numerous statuary of Chinese guardian lions exist, which are often called "Fu Dogs" "Foo Dogs", "Fu Lions", "Fo Lions", and "Lion Dogs". Modern lions are not native in the area of China, except perhaps the extreme west; however, their existence was well known, and associated symbolism and ideas about lions were familiar; however, in China, artistic representations of lions tended to be dog-like. Indeed, "[t]he 'lion' which we see depicted in Chinese paintings and in sculpture bears little resemblance to the real animal, which, however, plays a big part in Chinese folklore. The reasons for referencing "guardian lions" as "dogs" in Western cultures may be obscure, however the phenomenon is well known. *All of the art is edited and chosen by us for its high quality and workmanship before posting. These collectibles have been selected with the artist & collector in mind. We are committed to enhancing our customer’s lives by discovering creating, and pointing out only the best art we can find in the world today. We Are Taste-Makers, Art Advisers, Consultants & Publishers Of Spectacular Art Stories. Our job is to be intermediaries between buyers and sellers. We are vetting for high end art patrons. We are determined to catalog the world's most exceptional art and share it with everyone.

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_in_Chinese_mythology

Dogs are an important motif in Chinese mythology. There are many myths about dogs. Chinese mythology refers to those myths found in the historical geographic area of China. These include myths in Chinese and other languages, as transmitted by Han Chinese as well as other ethnic groups.



Note that despite any fantastic myths from China about dogs, real dogs have been familiar throughout China since prehistorical times (unlike certain exotic animals, such as lions or other creatures, whose real attributes may often only have been known indirectly). Dogs also feature in various historical and legendary accounts or stories, found in the extensive literary records of China, although in some cases the lines between myth and ancient history are uncertain. However, in many myths, legends, or other accounts of dogs in Chinese literature, the dog or dogs are presented in ways that in have no appearance of the fanciful or fantastic (as opposed to the way other creatures may typically be handled in mythology, such as in the case of turtles, snakes, dragons, or often even horses).



Numerous statuary of Chinese guardian lions exist, which are often called "Fu Dogs" "Foo Dogs", "Fu Lions", "Fo Lions", and "Lion Dogs". Modern lions are not native in the area of China, except perhaps the extreme west; however, their existence was well known, and associated symbolism and ideas about lions were familiar; however, in China, artistic representations of lions tended to be dog-like. Indeed, "[t]he 'lion' which we see depicted in Chinese paintings and in sculpture bears little resemblance to the real animal, which, however, plays a big part in Chinese folklore. The reasons for referencing "guardian lions" as "dogs" in Western cultures may be obscure, however the phenomenon is well known.





The motifs of dogs in Chinese mythology include a particular dog which accompanies a hero, the dog as one of the twelve totem creatures for which years are named, the first provision of grain which allowed current agriculture explained as having been by means of a dog, and claims of having a magical dog as an original ancestor in the case of certain ethnic groups.



For thousands of years, a twelve-year cycle named after various real or mythological animals has been used in Southeast Asia. This twelve-year cycle which may be referred to as the "Chinese zodiac" associates each year in turn with a certain creature, in a fixed order of twelve animals, after which it returns to the first in the order, the Rat. The eleventh in the cycle is the Dog. One account is that the order of the beings-of-the-year is due to their order in a racing contest involving swimming across a river, in the so-called Great Race. The reason for the dog finishing the race second from last despite generally being a talented swimmer is explained as being due to its playful nature: the dog played and frolicked along the way, thus delaying completing the course and reaching the finishing line. As of 2012, the next Year of the Dog in the traditional Chinese sexagenary calendar is February 19, 2018 to February 4, 2019 (Year of the Yang Earth Dog). The personalities of people born in dog years are popularly supposed to share certain attributes associated with dogs, such as loyalty or exuberance; however, this would be modified according to other considerations of Chinese astrology, such as the influences of the month, day and hour of birth, according to the traditional system of Earthly Branches, in which the zodiacal animals are also associated with the months and times of the day (and night), in twelve two-hour increments. The Hour of the Dog is 7 to 9 p.m., and the dog is associated with the ninth lunar month.

The earliest known ceramic objects are Gravettian figurines such as those discovered at Dolni Ves