Architectural ornament - Rare Temple Portal

Rare pair of carved wooden temple gate posts with fu lions

Antique Chinese hardwood gate posts with remnants of red fittings. The two posts, nearly a meter tall, impress with their powerful presence and size. They are crowned by carved fu lions on lotus pedestals – classic protective creatures of Chinese culture, one with a brocade ball beneath its paw. The sides are reinforced with pierced vine ornamentation, and there are two original hand-forged iron pins mounted, which were used to secure additional wooden elements.

Particularly noteworthy are the distinct smoothing marks on the lions' heads, evidence of ritual handling and attesting to their cultic use. Such wooden gate elements have rarely survived over time, as they were usually destroyed or repurposed. All the more remarkable is this fully preserved ensemble, which once presumably adorned a shrine or temple.

Dimensions: approx. 98 × 26 × 34 cm each

Condition: signs of age and use, drying cracks, fittings worn

Provenance: From a Swiss private collection.