<em>Celadon Karashishi (Chinese lion-dog)</em>, late 18th–early 19th century. White porcelain with celadon glaze (Nabeshima ware), 10 3/8 x 17 1/2in. (26.4 x 44.5cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Guennol Collection, 1999.70. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 1999.70_transp5543.jpg)

Celadon Karashishi (Chinese lion-dog), late 18th–early 19th century. White porcelain with celadon glaze (Nabeshima ware), 10 3/8 x 17 1/2in. (26.4 x 44.5cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Guennol Collection, 1999.70. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 1999.70_transp5543.jpg)

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

Would this have been placed outside?

While most sculptures of liondogs were created to serve as protectors for Buddhist temples and shrines, this ceramic was for the home of an elite member of society.

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.

Tell me more.

Isn't this celadon figure wonderful? Although lion-dogs were generally created in pairs to protect Buddhist temples, this sculpture is decorative and made for the home of an elite person.

Tell me more.

Although lion-dogs were generally created in pairs to protect Buddhist temples, this sculpture is decorative and made for the home of an elite person. A big part of the reason this creature looks so unusual is that is the image of a lion created by someone who had never seen a lion before.

What is this?

This is a lion-dog or karashishi. Lion-dogs were created in pairs to protect Buddhist temples, but this piece was just decorative and intended for the home of an elite individual.

What's this?

This Chinese Lion-Dog sculpture is actually from Edo Period Japan. Imagery featuring lions, animals which of course are not native to either China or Japan, came to Japan via China along with Buddhism. This object is purely decorative, rather than protective as would be most buddhist lion-dogs. It is made of what is called Nabeshima porcelain, a type of ceramic that was crafted exclusively for use in gifts to the Tokugawa Shogunate or a local ruling Shogun at the time.

Why is the butt like that?

This pose is based on a pose that real dogs and cats sometimes assume!

This sculpture was likely part of a pair and served a decorative purpose in a formal part of an elite home in Edo period Japan.

Celadon Karashishi (Chinese lion-dog)

Asian Art

In Japan, the motif of the mythical lion-dog became prevalent after the twelfth century, when it was introduced from China. This image is often associated with both Buddhist and secular meanings. For instance, the Buddhist dharma (teaching) is often likened to the roar of a lion.

MEDIUM White porcelain with celadon glaze (Nabeshima ware)

Place Made: Japan

DATES late 18th–early 19th century

PERIOD Edo Period

DIMENSIONS 10 3/8 x 17 1/2in. (26.4 x 44.5cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Asian Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 1999.70

CREDIT LINE Gift of the Guennol Collection

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

CAPTION Celadon Karashishi (Chinese lion-dog), late 18th–early 19th century. White porcelain with celadon glaze (Nabeshima ware), 10 3/8 x 17 1/2in. (26.4 x 44.5cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Guennol Collection, 1999.70. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 1999.70_transp5543.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 1999.70_transp5543.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.

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.

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

Would this have been placed outside?

While most sculptures of liondogs were created to serve as protectors for Buddhist temples and shrines, this ceramic was for the home of an elite member of society.

How do these two differ?

Tell me more.

Isn't this celadon figure wonderful? Although lion-dogs were generally created in pairs to protect Buddhist temples, this sculpture is decorative and made for the home of an elite person.

Tell me more.

What is this?

This is a lion-dog or karashishi. Lion-dogs were created in pairs to protect Buddhist temples, but this piece was just decorative and intended for the home of an elite individual.

What's this?

Why is the butt like that?

This pose is based on a pose that real dogs and cats sometimes assume!

This sculpture was likely part of a pair and served a decorative purpose in a formal part of an elite home in Edo period Japan.