Iconography of Union’s Stone Lion

Union College’s Stone Lion is an authentic guardian figure that was unearthed in China in the mid-19th century and later gifted to the College by an alumnus. Stone lions were first carved in China in the 2nd or 3rd century CE. Because they were regarded as ferocious and known as the “king of beasts,” lions were used as protective figures for tombs. Soon afterward, they were adopted into newly introduced Buddhist sites and other religious settings, and eventually became guardians of important government buildings, as well as widespread and cherished elements of Chinese folk traditions. In this way, they came to straddle the worlds of the dead and the living, the religious and the secular, and the elite and the common. Union’s Stone Lion is undated, but it exhibits features associated with later dynasties, possibly the Ming (1368–1644) or the Qing (1644–1911).

Click on the boxes to learn about the specific areas of the Stone Lion. 

After Restoration:

Photo by Paul Buckowski.

Donor Inscription:

The donor of the work, the Reverend John MW Farnham, Union Class of 1856, carved his name into the work before sending it overseas from China to New York some time in the mid 1870s. The inscription reads: “Presented by Rev. JMW Farnham, Shanghai, China”

Inscription: “Presented by Rev. JMW Farnham, Shanghai, China”

References: 

  • Artioli, Gilberto, Roberto Ciarla, Ivana Angelini, Valentina Cantone, Antonella Gnutti, and Massimo Vidale. 2025. “The Chinese Identity of St Mark’s Bronze ‘Lion’ and Its Place in the History of Medieval Venice.” Antiquity (Cambridge, UK) 99, no. 407: 1372–88. https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2025.10159.
     
  • Bartholomew, Terese Tse, and Asian Art Museum--Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture. 2006. Hidden Meanings in Chinese Art = Zhongguo Ji Xiang Tu An. Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.
     
  • Li, Zhigang 李芝岗. 2004. Zhonghua shi shi diao ke yi shu 中华石狮雕刻艺术 (The Art of Chinese Stone Lion Sculpture). Di 1 ban. Bai hua wen yi chu ban she.
     
  • Min-Chia Young, Min-Chia. 2009. ‘The Lion in Chinese Space and Social Life’, PhD thesis, New South Wales.