Foo Dog

[swizzle]

Hey all, I found this Foo Dog at a yard sale for $5. It has a repaired leg and a nice green patina. I was wondering if I could possibly get an age or any history on it. I tried to stick a magnet to it and it wouldn't stick so I'm sure its bronze but it could be brass to I suppose. I'm gonna do a quick polish on the bottom of him tomorrow to see if I can get some color. He's completely hollow and the belly is all open. The legs appear to have been filled with some sort of plaster or concrete. There are no makers marks that I can see on it anywhere's. I can take more pics or even a video if anyone needs to see more of it for a positive ID or if you just want to see more of it. Thanx for any help. Swiz

 

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[Functional]

Hmmm....I found something sort of similar.

Kirin, also known as Chinese Unicorn, is a mythical creature of good omen with a head like a dragon and the tail of a lion (or foo dog), radiating with fire. The kirin is the symbol of grandeur, longevity, wisdom and benevolence and is said to have appeared at the time when the sage Confucius was born (551-479 B.C.)

Maybe what you have is a Kirin? Maybe what I thought was feathers is fire?

I think your onto something there Tricia.
This is from Wikipedia:
"The Qilin, also spelled Kylin (Chinese: 麒麟; Hanyu Pinyin: qílín; Wade-Giles: ch'ilin), Keilun (in Cantonese), Kirin (also Girin in Korean), Kirin (in Japanese), Sabitun Sabintu (in Manchu), Kỳ lân (in Vietnamese) or Ki len (in Thai), is a mythical hooved Chinese chimerical creature that is said to appear in conjunction with the arrival of a sage. It is a good omen that brings rui (Chinese: 瑞; Hanyu Pinyin: ruì; roughly translated as "serenity" or "prosperity"). It is often depicted with what looks like fire all over its body."

More info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qilin

I tried doing a few Google image searches for "kilin". "qilin", "kylin" and "kirin", but theres so many stylized variations. Ditto for eBay, but the vast majority are small pendants and charms, or incense burners, etc.

F.

 

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[TreasureTales]

Hmmm....I found something sort of similar.

Kirin, also known as Chinese Unicorn, is a mythical creature of good omen with a head like a dragon and the tail of a lion (or foo dog), radiating with fire. The kirin is the symbol of grandeur, longevity, wisdom and benevolence and is said to have appeared at the time when the sage Confucius was born (551-479 B.C.)

Maybe what you have is a Kirin? Maybe what I thought was feathers is fire?

I think your onto something there Tricia.
This is from Wikipedia:
"The Qilin, also spelled Kylin (Chinese: 麒麟; Hanyu Pinyin: qílín; Wade-Giles: ch'ilin), Keilun (in Cantonese), Kirin (also Girin in Korean), Kirin (in Japanese), Sabitun Sabintu (in Manchu), Kỳ lân (in Vietnamese) or Ki len (in Thai), is a mythical hooved Chinese chimerical creature that is said to appear in conjunction with the arrival of a sage. It is a good omen that brings rui (Chinese: 瑞; Hanyu Pinyin: ruì; roughly translated as "serenity" or "prosperity"). It is often depicted with what looks like fire all over its body."

More info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qilin

I tried doing a few Google image searches for "kilin". "qilin", "kylin" and "kirin", but theres so many stylized variations. Ditto for eBay, but the vast majority are small pendants and charms, or incense burners, etc.

F.

[emphasis added]

Swizzle's creature doesn't have hooves, it has paws (see first photo). So I think that would have to rule out the Kirin. And I don't think those are flames on its sides, I think those are waves or splashes of water. Just my guesses, of course, I don't know anything about Asian art or religion.

 

[diggummup]

I like it,just don't know exactly what it is yet.

 

[swizzle]

If you want I can get various close ups of the designs. The flames or waves you describe to me look a lot like feathers. They have the main stem in the middle and lines going off of the main stem just like a feather does. This is a cool little mystery. I like it. Swizzle

 

[TreasureTales]

Of course we want more photos - closeups. We love this kind of stuff. Bring it on!! Please.

 

[je177]

Nice find Swizzle,

If I might add my 2 cents, I think the item you have there may be a mythical chinese beast called a Pei-Yau. The Pei-Yau is usually depicted as having the features of a lion with wings and horns. It's face is usually shown as a combination of a dragon and a lion.I think the large teeth on yours are very similar to those common in asian dragon images. I believe the Pei-Yau's image is seen throughout asia and it's form varies slightly from culture to culture. The one you have there looks Chinese. It is said to bring good fortune and have the ability to drive out spirits. Although the one you have doesn't have obvious protruding wings on it, I believe the swirls on the side are an artistic adaptation of wings. I did an Image search of a Pei-Yau and came up with a statue on Ebay that looks like yours in jade. There is also a much better description than I've given.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Jade-Heavenly-Beast-PEI-YAU-Gets-Rid-of-Evil_W0QQitemZ270028577928QQcmdZViewItem

Hope this helps.

J

 

[TreasureTales]

je177 may have it right. Good ID! Frankly, I think the thing is ugly, but that's because I like beasties with fewer teeth and horns. And because I think it's ugly, it's probably worth a fortune!! Everytime something ugly (my opinion) comes up on Antiques Roadshow, it turns out to be worth tens of thousands of dollars - never fails.

 

[swizzle]

This piece just keeps getting more and more interesting. I'm not sure how the whole bronze sculpture process works. I really like all of the hand crafting on this piece. You can see all the file marks or whatever tool they used to help shape these critter. The tail looks like it was also filled with plaster or is it possible that the bronze is added to a concrete form and then shaped after? You can see on the tail where the bronze doesn't cover all of the concrete. Maybe they filed it down to much? Well anyways, thanx for Pei-Yau ID. It can only get me closer to the origin and age of this piece. Well here's some more pics. If you guys and gurls want more specific pics let me know. I can get closer or farther away or lighten up pics more. Anything that you think might help. Thanx, Swizzle

 

[Functional]

One mans Foo Dog is another mans Pei Yau. At least now you know what it is so, when you ask around about an appraisal, you should be able to get the right people, (even if you do have to spell Pei Yau when they ask, what?).

F.

 

[TreasureTales]

These new closeup photos do make it easier to see why you think the design looks like feathers.

OK, I'm not trying to rain on your parade, but I want to say something about your Mud Pie or Pei Yau or whatever the heck it is. I've been to a few museums in San Francisco, like the Asian Art Museum, and I've seen some Asian art on TV. Without exception, all the pieces with any real age were carefully crafted and each detail was refined and precise. Even those things from thousands of years ago, the art was finely made. Your piece is lacking that refinement. Could it be the Wal-Mart version of Asian art? Please, don't take offense, just expressing my OPINION, and I'm not at all representing myself as an expert. For you sake, I truly hope it's worth a million.

 

[swizzle]

No offense at all. I appreciate any input good or bad. I don't think its a walmart item. I still think its a 1930/40's tourist type souvenir. It does appear to have some age but not a lot and I wouldn't doubt if there's a million of these in chinese shops all across the orient. If it is indeed something that is almost worthless then it will take up a little spot in my garden, if its worth a buck then I'm selling it. Either way its a really cool piece and I'm glad to be the owner of it. Swizzle

 

[Functional]

No offense at all. I appreciate any input good or bad. I don't think its a walmart item. I still think its a 1930/40's tourist type souvenir. It does appear to have some age but not a lot and I wouldn't doubt if there's a million of these in chinese shops all across the orient. If it is indeed something that is almost worthless then it will take up a little spot in my garden, if its worth a buck then I'm selling it.

Sold for a buck! I'd even reimburse you the $5 you paid for it.

Either way its a really cool piece and I'm glad to be the owner of it. Swizzle

If you could find out for certain, if it is indeed bronze and if that "flaking" I saw in the one picture was indeed gilt, then you could always stick it on eBay with a high reserve, (maybe set the reserve at something like $10,000, or whatever amount you choose and if the bidding never gets close to that amount, you can always put it in another auction). If you stick it on there for a full two weeks, word should eventually spread if it really is worth something. (You could always send out some emails to possible interested buyers, to let them know about the auction.) If it doesn't sell, then you can always stick it in the garden, or use it as a door stop. If you do decide to try eBay, write out a good description with lots of good keywords in the title.

If it does sell for a high amount, make sure you don't ship it until the check clears both your bank and the buyers, (ie: wait until your bank gets the cash for the check from the buyers bank, too many bogus checks out there, some fraudulent "certified" checks too and people writing checks when they haven't enough cash to cover them). If all else fails, tell the buyer to send cash by overnight courier.

F.

 

[swizzle]

I know what you mean by to many fake checks floating around. I tried to sell my car on ebay and had the buy it now feature. What a mistake that was. It cost me over $40 to list my car and the next day I had a person with 0 feedback use the buy it now feature and wanted me to accept a cashiers check in the full amount plus extra to ship my car from NY to the UK. I was suppose to take the extra cash and pay the shipper myself. It sounded really shady especially since the guy registered the same day he bid and he registered from NJ. Red flags just went up everywhere. I got that credited to my account and relisted my car and in the listing I wrote that I would not accept and bids from people with less then 10 positive feedbacks. The very next day it happened again and I ended up getting charged another $40+ to relist my car again and it never sold. I might go ahead and put it on ebay but I'm gonna wait until I hear back from the antique roadshow first. I like to make things interesting and sometimes people get a really good deal but its still fun. I'll put it on for $6 to cover the listing cost + shipping. I'll post the link here when I put it on so you guys and gurls can watch it. Swizzle

 

[Functional]

I know what you mean by to many fake checks floating around. I tried to sell my car on ebay and had the buy it now feature. What a mistake that was. It cost me over $40 to list my car and the next day I had a person with 0 feedback use the buy it now feature and wanted me to accept a cashiers check in the full amount plus extra to ship my car from NY to the UK. I was suppose to take the extra cash and pay the shipper myself. It sounded really shady especially since the guy registered the same day he bid and he registered from NJ. Red flags just went up everywhere.

I would have taken the cashiers check and had it processed through one of those check cashing places. So if the check was good, the buyer would never get anything back with my banking info on it, and if it was bad, the check cashing outfit would likely catch it. Either way, I'd leave my bank and banking info out of the loop and never ship unless the cash is free and clear, with no concerns of a bank, PayPal, or eBay clawing back the money.

I got that credited to my account and relisted my car and in the listing I wrote that I would not accept and bids from people with less then 10 positive feedbacks. The very next day it happened again and I ended up getting charged another $40+ to relist my car again and it never sold. I might go ahead and put it on ebay but I'm gonna wait until I hear back from the antique roadshow first.

Good plan. At least then you can make an informed decision.

I like to make things interesting and sometimes people get a really good deal but its still fun. I'll put it on for $6 to cover the listing cost + shipping. I'll post the link here when I put it on so you guys and gurls can watch it. Swizzle

I'll be watching, but purely out of personal interest, as I don't think I'll be bidding on anything for awhile. I've got a few items of my own I'm planning to put up on eBay within the next month. If all goes well, I hope to clear about fifty times my $100 investment. I don't have any garage sale foo dog's, but I have a few flea market finds. Good luck and keep us posted.

F.

 

[Angelo]

Here is a seller on e-bay that specializes in Chinese Brass and erotic paintings. You may want to contact him about your find. Check out his store on other items.

If it all works out you may want to trade your dog for some paintings

Tony

http://cgi.ebay.com/Large17-chinese...5721085QQihZ018QQcategoryZ60191QQcmdZViewItem

Also, from what I've searched on Foo Dogs. Yours appears to be quite different and much older.

 

[swizzle]

I think I'm just gonna try to sell it. I don't think my wife would let me hang up a huge piece of erotic art in the family room. I can't wait to hear back from antique roadshow. Swizzle

 

[Angelo]

I think I'm just gonna try to sell it. I don't think my wife would let me hang up a huge piece of erotic art in the family room. I can't wait to hear back from antique roadshow. Swizzle

Good Idea! But don't be in such a hurry to sell it. I would give it a bit more time and research. I have a gut feeling that it's not a Foo Dog as such.

We'll keep on searching.

Tony

 

[swizzle]

The research isn't over yet. That's half the fun of finding a cool item. Hey even if it isn't worth a ton of money then at least I got a cool new avatar out of it. What do you guys thing? A face that only a mother could love? Swizzle

 

[Angelo]

The research isn't over yet. That's half the fun of finding a cool item. Hey even if it isn't worth a ton of money then at least I got a cool new avatar out of it. What do you guys thing? A face that only a mother could love? Swizzle

I think that you better run that by your Mom before sticking to that statement

Tony

 

[swizzle]

I'm gonna see her tomorrow so I'll show her the post and get her response. Swizzle