Ceramic Statue (Lion)

This small ceramic statue represents a lion figure standing on four small simple legs. Two tusks appear from the sides of his mouth, while textile folds cover the bodies of the carriers of this legendary animal. The cloth-like body extends from the back of its ears till the top of its back legs. Decorations are executed with blue color on a beige bed under a green-tinted glaze.

As it is known, this legendary animal appears in the festivities of China for the Chinese New Year. It seems that the medieval Syrian ceramist artist had visited China and watched these celebrations and tried to reproduce what he saw in this ceramic design. The raw materials from which this statuette was composed - the clay, colors and glaze - all originate in the city of Hama. Read more about this object on the UNESCO Museums for Intercultural Dialogue website.