A massive pair of Chinese fahua pottery models of Buddhistic lion dogs

A massive pair of Chinese fahua pottery models of Buddhistic lion dogs, each beast well modelled with lively expressions, seated on their haunches, adorned with bells, the male with his right paw on a brocade ball, while the female holds her puppy, both raised on elaborate rectangular plinths and glazed in dark aubergine and turquoise with pale yellow and white details, Ming dynasty 16th/17th century, minor restoration, 47cm. (2) Provenance: Christie's London, 6th December 1993, lot 79. Cf: Maria Antonia Pinto de Matos, Porcelana Chinesa, Museu Calouste Gulbenkian, No.39 for a related example of the same size, and R. Krahl, Chinese Ceramics: The Anthony de Rothschild Collection 2, no.240.