Brown Glazed Folk Art Signed Clay Lion in the Manner of John Bell 1972 edition in Art from Knox College

in Art from Knox College

recently sold at auction for $325

I think he's a pretty great looking little monkey

though it is so distinctive and beautifully decorated I think I'd be more inclined to treat it as a design object than to drink out of it--I  might put it to use as a small planter

In any case

Brown Glazed Folk Art Signed Clay Lion in the Manner of John Bell 1972 edition in Art from Knox CollegeI don't know the age or much about the origins of this charming lion, but I do know it came from Pennsylvania, and certainly it bears a strong resemblance to the iconic folk art lion of John Bell (18001880) from the Shenandoah Valley, which itself bore the influence of Staffordshire and Rockingham lions from the mid 18th c. This one is signed Dorlisa (or possibly Dorlida) Lyons (appropriately) and I think it honors its predecessors quite nicely, and