INFO ON ANTIQUE? BRONZE CHINESE DRAGON

I bought this today with the bronze pan statue I asked about earlier. It was also $29.95!
Is it as old as it appears?
Is it a dragon (I assume it is, but it is very thin and snake - made me think of a flying fish - like)?
Is it a Chinese dragon?
Is it bronze?
Finally, I googled vintage bronze chinese dragon and almost all of them stood on some kind of base - not on the dragon's own feet like this one. Is this a better, more detailed statue, or is there any difference?
I can't find a name or maker's mark anywhere on it.
It measures 9" x 5" x 5" & it is heavy.
Thanks for any info; it is greatly appreciated!

 

Chinese = five toed, Japanese would be three toed.

 

It looks 3-toed to me. Is that some kind of damage on its back?
I wonder if it might be a handle off something.

 

You planning to cook it?

 

Yes, 3-toed. Number of toes doesn't mean much for origin. Could be from a number of East Asian countries, not just China. Doesn't look very Japanese to me.
It looks like it could have been soldered on a brass or bronze plate, as a door handle. In that case it probably had a twin for the other door.

I don't think it would make a tasty meal, not even in the Magic Chef. Not much meat on those bones, and removing the scales is near impossible.

 

3-toed dragon are always used between Shang Dynasty(1600BC to 1046BC) to Yuan Dynasty(1271AD - 1368AD), and during Ming Dynasty four toed dragons were very popular. In the Qing Dynasty dragons of emperor were five toed.
Number of toes used in porcelain and cloth are very important and strict in feudal society of China, which showed strict hierarchy.
During Qing Dynasty, 5 toes dragon was only used by Emperor, 4 toes dragon was used by infante and seignior, 3 toes dragon was used by empire court officers. (In Qing Dynasty, we called 5 toes dragon as dragon, 4 toes dragon as boa.)
In the event of opera or drama, actors acted emperor could only wear 4 toes dragon cloth.

 

Any idea of age of this? Was it part of something else or just a artistic statue?

 

It's four toes.
And its head appears japanese dragon.

Age? I have no idea with this one.