Chinese bronze lion?

[Skinny]

I just bought this guy for $25 online. It looks old, but maybe someone has just gone to a lot of trouble to make it appear that way. The feet of the animal are attached to the base with some rusted iron or steel nails that can be seen sticking out of the bottom if you flip it over. It's not magnetic. What do y'all think?

[Skinny]

One more pic

[Pelady]

 I have no opinion on authenticity our age, but a very cool piece and for only 25 bucks!

[KC]

No real information here except that if it was a "really really old" piece you wouldn't see a screw but it would have been welded.  Maybe someone else will chime in!

[ghopper1924]

I can only chime in by saying that those tapestries on the wall behind the lion look pretty cool! 

[Skinny]

Ha ha thanks, I like tapestries. I don't think those are screws KC, just iron or steel rods helping hold the feet onto the base. I read that the Greeks did this with some of their bronzes (using iron rods to attach arms and legs etc), but I don't know if its correct for old Chinese stuff or not. The patina and all the corosion looks legit, but it might only be a hundred years old and been outside for the last fifty years or something

[Ghislaine]

Channel page have a detailed system that says it is not interesting at all.

[Skinny]

Of course I know everyone wants their stuff to be old and valuable and most of the time it isn't. This has a little bit of some kind of pinkish yellow dirt in some of the crevices as well, so it was either buried or someone wanted it to look like it was buried

[Ipcress]

They sometimes bury them to resemble ageing and remove the fresh look of something recently made.

I would say it’s not that old but it might be a 20s, 30s piece which was buried in undergrowth for a time.

[Skinny]

Thanks. If you've got time I'd be interested to know what about it marks it out to you as being not genuine

[mart]

Channel page have a detailed system that says it is not interesting at all.

You might want to explain that statement !!

[mart]

Thanks. If you've got time I'd be interested to know what about it marks it out to you as being not genuine

I would agree with Ipcress estimate of age !!  That base threw me !!  Chinese craftsmen would not have left one like that !!  They were excellent craftsmen even on inexpensive items !!

[Skinny]

Yeah, you're right about base being a bit too amateurish. It does look like its been smashed though. I think it was probably a little more symetrical when it was originaly made.

[mart]

I do not think the smashed theory works !!  When bronze is poured its a solid metal,, same as cast iron !! Can`t figure how any accident would leave one looking like that !! 

[Skinny]

The base is all banged up, you can see that in the picture that shows a view from the bottom. Its possible it was made that way, but to me it looks damaged. This bronze is hollow I think. I believe it has a clay core. The base may have originally had a bronze  surface on the bottom, and that part has been broken and is now gone. Or not, but you can plainly see the exposed clay down there, so that makes sense to me.
I thought all bronze sculptures were hollow, except for very very small ones? Thats what I've read on all the websites I've researched.