Temple Lion

Apologies: the photo is not so good, but FK, an older resident of Montecito, sent me a Kodak photo of her Temple Lion in the U.S. Post, asking me if her Chinese ceramic was in fact late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) as told by relatives, and, what is a temple lion, and why a lion? I can accept any image but the best way to send valuation images to me is a digital image: this reader said she has no capabilities in this regard. (I get it: my mom is 95 and doesn’t either.) Digital? Send to elizabethap praisals@gmail.com. If you don’t do digital images, I’ll send you my postal address.

Buddhist Temple Lions are the male of the species, sitting on his haunches, sometimes with one foot raised up on a brocade ball. He is fierce, with his head raised in a wide roar or snarl, with a tongue sometimes visible. The mane is as stylized (abundant curls) as is the tail, but the ears and the eyes are emphasized, both bulging from the head. For this reason, he is sometimes called a ‘Foo Dog.’ He bares his teeth in a fantastic reference to fearlessness; his backbone usually is knobby and coiled. Oftentimes, the lion will be saddled, or caparisoned, which is highly symbolic (more later). In Asian art generally, there is not a “gap” between the spiritual and the material, and these symbols truly “live.”

So FK, what do these symbols mean? The term “temple lion” refers to this object’s former position on the roof corners of a Buddhist temple, because the Buddha, formerly known as Shakyamuni, was himself a member of the lion clan called “Shakya.” Why then is the lion roaring, and why is he placed on the edge line of a temple roof? Because the lion is roaring out the dharma, the Four Noble Truths, across the landscape for all to hear.

The lion is a fearless ensign of royalty and nobility. They are the kings of the animal world, with no natural enemy. Furthermore, lions live in clans, and the male lion’s single role is to protect the clan. They do not hunt, the females do. So the male lion is held in the highest respect and regard.

All the “sons” of Buddha, the Bodhisattvas, are Buddha’s lions, and as FK’s figure represents a real animal, the Bodhisattvas agree to remain in the animal world as material beings, until all sentient beings are free from suffering.

FK’s lion, therefore, is a protector creature, found at entrances of monasteries, shrines and temples. FK’s lion is white, because white references the “snow lion,” who is the loftiest being on a high mountain, and of course, a reference to a mountain represent the “peak” of wisdom.

FK’s lion is missing its brother, however, as two temple lions would have originally been placed at two corners of a structure, reminding devotees of compassion and fierce wisdom.

FK asks the date of her lion and suspects that the curator of the Pasadena Asian Art Museum may have been correct in the date of 1620 (late Ming). The way the pottery body has been fired, leaving certain “gaps” in finishing, indicates this early date.

As I mentioned, FK, some temple lions are saddled or caparisoned. This is because the great beasts are a warrior’s companion in war. The tradition lives on today in state funerals, when a riderless horse is led, saddled, in the funeral procession with the stirrups inverted, implying that the warrior fell in battle. Genghis Khan, the Mongols, and the Tartars were said to have begun this custom, since their war horses would travel through the gate in the sky to serve a warrior master: a warrior should never walk, but always be mounted. You can see how this symbolism “works” for devotees of the Buddha.

However, Asian ceramics are difficult to date because once a style is deemed to be “perfected,” that style can live on for thousands of years in the same “image.” However, FK’s piece has that authentic Ming quality to my eye; the glazing is indicative of quality; difficult to have mastered in the 15th century; called in the West, Blanc de Chine, a tradition of pure white ceramic slip with an almost clear glaze. This is meant to show the purity of the material, another important religious reference. The value, FK, is hard to ascertain in photos, however, if the date is 1620 and the piece is in good condition, you have a treasure on your hands at upwards of $3,000.