Superb 16/17th Century Gilded Bronze Tibet Snow Lion, very special For Sale

Superb 16/17th Century Gilded Bronze Tibet Snow Lion. This is a masterfully sculpted 16/17th Century Tibetan Snow Lion mounted in a custom built period 18/19th Century Chinese hardwood frame. The background behind the lion as well as the back of the frame is beautifully painted. The lion looks to be either thickly done in repousse or to be cast, and then richly gilded. There are remains of polychrome. He has some expectable dings and he lost his separately cast tail long ago, but it is in generally remarkably good condition for being 300 or 400 or perhaps more years old. He has more than 95% of his original gilding. The frame has expectable crackling to the paint and some expectable scratches and dents found on almost any large authentic wooden frame. The lion is quite large –the frame is 26 1/2" x 21 and three-quarter inches. The lion himself is over 13 inches tall and 15 inches wide. He has great depth and dimensionality to him and comes about 2 inches from the surface of the frame in some areas. This kind of item would be found in a high end sale and goes for substantial prices.