Chinese foo dog brass antique

Guardian Lion/Foo Dog Brass

I was at the Admiral Vernon antiques market in Portobello. One of the stalls downstairs sells Asian/South East Asian antiques. I bought this unique piece of foo dog/guardian lion brass. At first I thought it is a barong: a good spirit in a Balinese mythology. But looking at further research, I think it is a Chinese foo dog or guardian lion who guards/protects places.

A very ornate design foo dog brass
The detail is very ornate.
Guardian lion foo dog antique
It is quite small, but quite heavy.
Lion foo dog fire tongue antique brass small
What is that long flame/fire like beneath his/her mouth?

I am not sure about the function of it, it does have small holes maybe for screw? I thought it was for topping the wine bottle, but I later doubt it because of the heavy weight it carries.

Chinese foo dog brass antique
See the hole? Is it to screw something?
Bottle top foo dog brass heavy antique
As a bottle top?
Chinese Japanese foo dog lion brass
The lion from the back. It’s quite cute.

I have to come back to the seller and ask more information about it. Including where it was made. Maybe it was made by Indonesian artist? I will update this page as soon as I find more info.

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