AN EXCEPTIONAL PAIR OF MASSIVE WHITE MARBLE BUDDHIST LIONSMING DYNASTY, 16TH-17TH CENTURYEach lion is chiseled from a single block of white marble, seated on its haunches with jaws open, the bulging eyes peering from below the bushy eyebrows, the head surrounded by a mane of tight curly tufts above a collar centred by a lion-mask, tied around the neck with ribbons trailing down the back, the female playfully pressing her cub under her left paw, the male clutching a beribboned brocade ball beneath the right paw. Both are supported on an integral base with a cover detailed with a diaper ground.female: 68 1/4 in. (173.5 cm.) high, 25 1/4 (64 cm.) wide, 48 3/4 in. (123.6 cm.) deep; male: 68 1/2 in. (173 cm.) high, 25 1/4 in. (64.3 cm.) wide, 48 in. (122 cm.) deep, each weighs approximately 2 metric tons