Pair of "Seated Lions, one paw on a globe" in polychrome earthenware
Probably a French work from Rouen
Late 18th-early 19th
century H: +/- 47,5 cm
(accidents and restorations)

Provenance: old Ansiau-Pieraerts collection

These "Lions de perron" originally presented in pair evoke the Chinese Fô dogs executed in porcelain and arrived in France in the seventeenth century. These fabulous animals, with a protective role, had the mission to keep away evil spirits. Several factories, including Rouen, Lunéville, Angoulême, have retained the idea by transforming these Chinese sculptures into lions installed opposite each other. They were enthroned on staircase pillars when their size was appropriate. Hence the expression "to look at themselves as earthenware dogs".