Joss Stick Foo Dog

[talesofthesevenseas]

Following up on the foo dog:
Yes, the body of the dog is hollow, so when you put a stick of incense into the tube on top, it extends all the way into the dogs body. I don't know if incense made in the 1830s would have extended the entire length of the stick or not, but since the open mouth is part of the hollow body, it looks to me like it is intended for smoke to come out of the mouth.

[talesofthesevenseas]

Another update: I was at the museum in Colonial Williamsburg when I saw this, a nearly identical, slightly larger version of my Foo dog dated 1767!!! I think it may be a little older than I realized!