Featured Have been wondering what this is for a long time.

Hello my name is Lucas, I live in Globe Az. My father dug an artifact out of the ground in the hills of Newhall California over 50 years ago and has held onto it since. It has come time and we are trying to find out exactly what it is. It is a dragon, made of bronze or brass, about 18 inches long. My mother did some research a couple of years ago and found out it might possibly be thing that was hung above a door in the old west to indentify a Chinese place of business or residence. It must be handmade considering how old it is. I’m doing this from my phone not sure how to send a picture... I will send one ASAP. Thanks for any help, just trying to find out what this is. Thank you.

 

Hello Lucas. We have people knowledgeable about both Native American & Asian art who will come along & give you ideas about what it is or definitely is not. They live in all different time zones around the globe so be a little patient & check back from time to time. I am not an expert; the explanation you already have sounds plausible to me.

 

Welcome to the forum Lucas! I don't have any information on your piece, but do think it is fabulous and unusual. This is a good place to find out, and I'm sure someone will have more information. Good luck with it -- I will be interested to learn more about it as well. Dave

 

Thank you so much. Glad to be here.

 

Thank you so much. Glad to be here.

 

hello Lucas444 welcome to the forum..regards...pewter2

 

Thank you so much. Glad to be here.

 

Hi Lucas 444, Welcome to the Forum!
I see 1 hole in 1 foot, perhaps for nailing to door as you suggest. Is there more than 1 hole?

 

Yes.. there is a hole on each foot.

 

Ok. I could only see 1, Thanks.
It’s very nice.
Does seem to be a hand made item.

 

No problem. Honestly I don’t know how to tell if it is handmade. My father does believe it to be. When he found it, he just noticed the tail of it sticking out of the ground and dig it up. Tomorrow I will post some more exact measurements, and maybe more pics. Also on one of the front legs, there is a sharp indention, where it looks like something, possibly a bullet hit it. There are no identifying marks or signatures of any kind, at least that I can see. The legs move back and forth too, like it’s poseable

 

Welcome to the forum, Lucas.
What a wonderful find. It is handmade, and I think your mother could be right. It certainly looks like a Chinese dragon.
What you need is someone who knows the history of Chinese in the US. Maybe you could ask here:
http://www.pbs.org/kqed/chinatown/index.html
There are other sites with info on Chinese in the US, but those are not accessible in Europe, where I am.

 

Looks like brass to me, and yes, a very cute dragon. The dragon is an important mythical creature in Chinese culture. It's a benevolent guardian which protects the peasantry and brings rainfall to farmers so that their crops may grow.

There was a sizable Chinese community in California in the 1840s, 50s, and 60s, one of the first large-scale Chinese settlements in America at the time. They came for the gold-rush, and then even MORE came to build the Transcontinental Railroad in the 1860s. Originally, Irish labourers were hired to dig the tunnels and lay the tracks, etc, but they quit in disgust. The railroad bosses hired the Chinese, almost as a joke, but soon the entire eastern-advancing railroad crew was Chinese. When the tracks were joined at Promontory Point in Utah, each half of the tracks were laid by men from both sides - one American, one Chinese.

Could this have been from one of those early migrant Chinese communities, in like, San Francisco, or nearby? I think it likely. Where? I couldn't say, but I do think that's probably when this would date from.

 

The dragon is an important symbol of just about everything in Chinese culture, and (East) Asian culture in general. It is also a symbol of China as a country.
Chinatowns around the world use dragon imagery as a symbol of their cultural identity.
Just an example, a lamppost in Vancouver's Chinatown:

 

Welcome to you and your mysterious nice dragon, Lucas

 

Whoever did it knew their stuff. That's cleverly designed and well done.

Where was your father digging that he found this? Ghost town?

 

http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/date/2013/05/03
Awaiting more pictures, but in researching I found this information.
This is an art called jizai okomono.
A Japanese term meaning “movable decoration” apparently Chinese and Japanese versions.
So I don’t think it was a wall decoration.

 

You're right, those articulated metal animals are made in different Asian countries (and elsewhere). Very well known are the Chinese articulated fish, which we see regularly on the forum. But it looks like only the legs on the dragon Lucas posted are 'movable', the body looks rigid.

 

Agree with you AJ. It is not near fully articulated. I’m just thinking it’s maybe a simplified, version of this.......
Or not?