pipe case, unknown maker from Japan

Archive Label 2003 (version 1):
According to legend, Chinese lions threw their young off high cliffs to test their strength. If the young lion survived the fall it would be certain to live a long life. Chinese lions often appear in pairs guarding the gates of Buddhist temples.

Archive Label 2003 (version 2):
The simple elegance of this ivory pipe case (its pipe, displayed here, slips easily into the hollow interior) is finely decorated with relief carving. The lions in the relief refer to a Chinese legend. According to that legend, Chinese lions threw their young off high cliffs to test their strength. A young lion that survived the fall was certain to live a long life.

Exhibition Label:
"The Art of Stories Told," Jun-2004, Veronica de Jong
This simple image of two lion cubs alludes to a well-known legend associated with a Chinese Buddhist monastery located in the mountains south of Shanghai. Nearby the temple is a natural stone bridge linking a deep ravine. All of the rocks are covered in a slippery moss that is nourished by heavy mists and the spray of a waterfall. At this site a lioness was said to have tested the endurance of her cubs by tossing them into the ravine. Those that returned she would care for. One cub is shown clambering up a precipitous peak, its curly mane and tail blowing in a strong breeze as it looks down at the cub below. The lower cub is depicted soaring through the air, its paws outstretched, apparently bravely facing its fate. The depths of its flight are indicated by the long, narrow form of the pipe holder, and the stylized pattern that is delicately carved into the end seems to suggest the racing movement experienced by the cub.