I really never knew anything about Fu Dogs (Chinese guardian lions, known as Shishi; literally "stone lion") or Imperial guardian lion, and often called "Foo Dogs" in the West. They have traditionally stood in front of China Imperial palaces, Imperial tombs, government offices, temples, the homes of government officials and the wealthy, from the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220). They were believed to have powerful mythic protective benefits. Fu Dogs will keep evil spirits from entering your home. They are also believed to bring prosperity. Here are two of our fierce looking Fu Dogs...very frightening, aren't they?
Female on the left and Male on the right.
The story behind our Fu Dogs -
Mr. Piggy and I were at an estate sale close by in our neighborhood, when we came upon two sets of these fearsome looking creatures. They were sooo fierce looking, and so beautiful. Both Mr. Piggy and I were irresistibly drawn to them separately, as we walked around the house. Finally, we both ended up side by side admiring them. Neither of us had ever seen anything like them! We didn't consider buying them as they were just not something that goes with our decor. We like traditional/colonial things....but since our whole house is decorated with estate sale/thrift items, you never know what you'll find. The price was more than we could spend anyway, living on a fixed income. How could something like these work in our house?
They are created in pairs. The Male has a ball (indicating the world) under his paw.
The Female usually has a playful cub under her paw.
We went home and the next morning...Mr. Piggy said he "Had a dream"...about the Fu Dogs. He pictured the large ones on the shelves next to our fireplace in his dream. So I picked up my lap top, and as we drank our morning coffee, I read about all the benefits Fu Dogs can bring to you. Just keeping evil out of our house seemed like enough, LOL. We got dressed and went back to the sale, and even though there had been a lot of interest in them....the Fu Dogs were still there. It was the second day of the sale and everything was half price. Actually, there were 3 sets, and I wish now we had gotten the third set too. They were green jade. After a little bargaining with the estate sale owners, two sets of Fu Dogs were being carefully wrapped and taken to our van. This was our second experience with CDO (Creating Divine Order) Estate Sales, and again, they took such good care of us.
Here's the second set...much smaller than the large blue ones, although it's hard to tell in pictures. The proper placement is to have the female on the left and the male on the right as you are facing them.
The male of this pair.
This Female seems to symbolize prosperity, with a pot of gold.
So....now we look for Fu Dogs at every estate sale we attend. Not quite an obsession yet, but we are definitely interested in them. There are so many different ones...bronze, porcelain, jade, and all price ranges.
At a recent sale, we found just a single Fu Dog. I think this one is a male, as he has the ball under his foot and we couldn't resist that this one seems whimsical...covered with flowers and reclining. I love the fact that he is a reclining Fu Dog, and love his coloring.
We went back on the second day of the sale to purchase him, and were so happy that he was still there....at half price. I guess not everyone knows about their "Mystical Powers".
I wonder what happened to his mate?
I put him on one of my latest finds. An antique Ethan Allen Queen Anne Low Boy that sits in front of the dining room window...(for now).
This Ethan Allen Low Boy was found at a different CDO estate sale, and is very old. The top needs refinishing, so if I was ever going to try out Annie Sloan decorative chalk paint, (all the rage in blogging land), and paint a piece of furniture, it might be this piece. It was half price day, so it was a bargain. I wanted it for a night stand in the guest room, but Mr. Piggy thought it would look nice in front of the dining room window. Since he does the moving, this was where it ended up. I would only paint it if we later decide it belongs in the guest room, where I'm contemplating painting a Hooker Four Poster bed.
The antique Imperial Bonn Germany covered Cheese/Butter dish in the background, belonged to Mr. Piggy's great grandmother.
With his pretty flowers, he doesn't seem very fierce...but we won't underestimate his powers.
I just love him.
I hope you enjoyed seeing my Fu Dogs.
