Fantastic Folk Art Lion with Moveable Legs, Long Tail and Bared Teeth! geometric design projecting "living pictures

projecting "living pictures

Very late 19th or early 20th century

What fun to have this vintage Towle pewter shell game set around--perhaps to pull out at cocktail parties

hydrometer was an old thermometer

Dated December 1857

Fantastic Folk Art Lion with Moveable Legs, Long Tail and Bared Teeth! geometric design projecting "living picturesThis lion was clearly made by someone special, and maybe for someone special too, and I sure love them for it. The shapes and positioning of the jointed legs make for a luxuriously long lion stride, and then this marvelous mane, done as an additional later and painted with blue and orange dabs, with little cutout ears layered on top of that, attached by nails. Plus great big carved white teeth against blood red lips, and a long stiff rope tail,