Green Fu-Dog (19th + 20th Century)

Mythological lion-dogs such as these are ubiquitous in Asian art, found in cemeteries, temples, shops, and domiciles and utilized traditionally as Buddhist guardian effigies to ward off demon spirits. Fabricated of materials such as stone, wood, ivory, and terra-cotta, they appear with variations of fringed manes, long hairy ears, spiraling tails, ornamental eyebrows, curved hams, broad square muzzles, enormous globular eyes, and upcurled wide mouths that suggest laughter rather than ferocious snarls. Often they are shown with playful cubs and brocaded balls representing sun spheres. Their image combines features of Pekingese pug dogs (known commonly as hsiao kou, small dogs) and long-haired lion dogs (shih-tzu kou).

Robert Allerton purchased the twenty-two lustrous, gorgeously colored lapis-lazuli-blue ceramic Fu Dogs in pairs from European and American art dealers, and had them placed in a specially designed garden in 1932. Considering their similarity in size, overall look, and hollow construction, they may well have been created for the export trade in the same factory. They are very like each other, differentiated only slightly by spots or blazes on their foreheads, by their white or blue beards, by nuances in modeling, and in the treatment of tails and ears. “The Chinese craftsmen who made the dogs did not try to make exact duplicates,” professor of art Donald Frith explained. “Each was unique and had several imperfections, giving the impression they had been made somewhat hastily.” Because of theft and winter freezes that cause great damage, not all in the garden now are originals.

As for the other Fu Dogs in the Park, the two of granite on high pedestals at the end of the Vine Walk near the House of the Gold Buddhas are of Korean origin. The green ceramic dog in the Cutting Garden behind Allerton House is notable for its unusual crouching position.

From A Guide to Art at the University of Illinois: Urbana-Champaign, Robert Allerton Park, and Chicago by Muriel Scheinman. Copyright 1995 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. Used with permission from the University of Illinois Press.