Chinese Hand Carved Foo Lion on Drum

In frame, a lion-like guardian stands on a drum base, with a pup at its foot.

This hand carved foo lion on drum is from China, and dates to the late 19th or early 20th century. It is boxwood. A drum is a common base for temple and household guardian figures in China, and carvers working in boxwood produced many small carved examples for the home. Photographed straight, a small carved beast with a curly mane and a collar hung with bells sits upright on a round drum-shaped base. The base has a beaded rim and a ring-holding mask on its side, in warm honey brown. It is 2.75 inches high and 1.75 in diameter.

A very dignified parent, and the cub knows it.