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I just bought a pair of 4 foot tall bronze 5 claw dragon water fountains. The seller told me that he purchased them from the estate of a Chinese ambassador, but perhaps he meant a US ambassador to China since they were purchased here in the USA. The he didn't have a name or address, so there is no way for me to confirm his story.


Nevertheless, does anyone have any information to share about the history and/or use of bronze fountains in China? Opinions on my pair of dragon fountain statues?

They show significant wear and age, but the casting is quite well done.

My quick Google search didn't turn up much. I found a few examples of bronze dragon fountains, but they all seem to be done in the Japanese or European manner...none with 5 claws. The ones listed online also seem to lack the detail of the head and scales that my pair show.

I have read about the 12 zodiacal fountain heads from the Qianlong period, and I am sure there is no (or very little) relation between the two.

I tried finding info on other Chinese fountains, but came up empty.

Any thoughts, opinions, and help on Chinese fountain history would be appreciated.

Thanks!

I cant speak much on this, I primarily stick to Japanese art but I can say that until the end of the Qing dynasty the two horned five clawed dragons were reserved for The Emperor and his family, lesser nobility used 4 claws and common people 3 so unless this was in fact owned by one of the emperors I would say its probably early China Republic. Sorry I cant be more help

Thanks for the reply, Brandon.

You're could be right about the age, and maybe even as late as mid 20th c.

I'm familiar with the 5 claw restriction, but I always thought that the restriction really loosened up during the 19th c.

You probably noticed that the claws of my fountains also conform to the traditional pin wheel shape used in the Qianlong period, while during the 19th c., the claws changed to what is sometimes referred to as Chicken Foot (where some toes point forward, while others point back).

Whoever created this piece understood the motif of the Imperial dragon design of the Qianlong era. Perhaps that is another clue that is another clue pointing towards the bronzes being of the Republic era as they were quite interested in a renaissance of the craftsmanship of past Imperial times.

Although hard to see in the photos, there are still visible seams where the limbs were joined to the body, so I am assuming they are not high enough quality to be 19th c. However, since I have no information on Chinese fountains, I really have no basis to determine the true age or quality.

What I can say is they are significantly heavier than modern fountains of similar height.

If I read correctly, a company in China is offering a 4 foot long dragon fountain that weighs 75lbs.

Each of my fountains weighs about 200lbs.

Anyway, they really cool and eventually I hope to come across some additional info.

Thanks again.
Tim

Hi, great find! I was curious if maybe your sculpture could be Severo Calzetta da Ravenna? Good luck!

Did a quick search as I'm not familiar with Severo Calzetta da Ravenna.

If it was a work by him, that would be quite a find. But, it looks like from what I read that his works are pretty small in size.

Since he was active in the 1500's in Italy, that would predate this style of Chinese dragon which in my opinion is designed in the manner of the Qianlong period (late 1700's).

I'm fairly confident that my fountains are early to mid 20th c.

But, you got me looking around again for other sources as to where and when they were made, so thanks!

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