Japanese Edo Wood Guardian Lions - Shishi & Komainu
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Description
East Asia, Japan, Edo period, ca. 1603 to 1868 CE. A wonderful pair of wooden guardian lions, both sitting upright with fierce, snarling faces, perky tails, and cascading, coiled manes, all enveloped in liberal remains of red pigment. These figures would originally have flanked the entrance to the sacred chamber in a Buddhist temple or a Shinto shrine in Japan. Although heavily worn by age, they are still hauntingly ferocious and well suited to their task of warding off evil spirits. The male guardian with the open mouth is called a shishi (lion), while the other is known as a komainu (Korean lion-dog). The shishi's open mouth is symbolically intoning the syllable a, and the komainu's closed mouth indicates the syllable un. These sounds, also the first and last letters of the Sanskrit alphabet - the ancient Indian language that came to Japan with Buddhism - metaphorically encompass the entire cosmos. Size (both are similar): 16.8" L x 9.5" W x 20.8" H (42.7 cm x 24.1 cm x 52.8 cm)
Provenance: private southern California, USA collection, acquired before 2000
All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
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#186035
Provenance: private southern California, USA collection, acquired before 2000
All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
We ship worldwide to most countries and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
#186035
Condition
Male has detachable tail and has had proper front left leg reattached with modern nail and wood insert for support; female is missing one ear. Both have stable stress fissures and splitting to wood and weathering to surface with nicks and abrasions as expected with age. Otherwise, male is intact and both have good detail and nice patina.
Buyer's Premium
- 27.5%
Japanese Edo Wood Guardian Lions - Shishi & Komainu
Estimate $2,400 - $3,600
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Item located in Louisville, CO, usSee Policy for Shipping
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Auction Curated By
Owner/Executive Director, Antiquities & Pre-Columbian Art
PhD. Art History, Director, Fine & Visual Arts
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