A25

This  ferocious fellow is a Bronze incense burner from the Chinese Ming period c.1700.  It is a figure of the typical lion-dog used to ward off eivil spirits.  The  head is hinged, and the body was usually partly filled with sand into which the burning joss-sticks (incense) were stuck.  With the head hinged back in place- the smoke comes realistically out of the mouth of the figure.  The entire figure is intrically detailed, and has a grand patina of age.