A large pair of cloisonné temple lions, Qing dynasty, 19th Century.
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The buddhist lions depicting crouching with turned heads and open mouth. Decorated with a continous pattern of cloud formation and mythical animals in the enamel colours green, red, yellow, blue, white and red against a turkoise ground. The cloisonné stands made separately, is decorated to the top with a continuous lotus scroll, the sides of the stand with buddhist emblems and bands of stylised flowers. Height 57 cm. Lenght 58 cm. Depth 38 cm. Wooden stands accompanies the piece, total height with wooden stand 68 cm.
Brocade ball and pup missing. Wear.
Provenance
From the Collection of Paul Butler (1892-1981), Chicago Illinois, thence by descent. Paul Butlers family fortune came from papermaking, that dated back to the colonial era. He was an accomplished horseman, poloplayer and photographer, and served during WW1 with the American expeditionary forces as a cavalry officer and reconnaissance photographer. After the war he returned to the family business and served as President of Butler Paper Company, from 1930 to 1965, but soon noticed a business opportunity in private aircrafts. The business expanded after WW2, and soon Butler Aviation opened facilities In Chicago, La Guarida, Palm Beach etc. Thence by descent.