A rare and charming piece of history. 

This is an ancient Chinese earthenware pottery artifact of a sleeping dog, dating to the Tang Dynasty, circa 618 - 907 AD. Hollow-moulded, the animal is depicted with its head resting by its paws, its tail curled up alongside the right haunch. Figure measures approximately 4" long x 1.5" high.

From artancient.com: A symbol of fidelity, the dog is one of the twelve symbolic animals of the Daoist system of chronological designation. Both the snub-nosed mastiff and the long-nosed, long limbed greyhound are depicted in Chinese art as early as the Han Dynasty. Indeed a wonderful depiction of a greyhound was found in the tomb wall paintings of Prince Yide, buried in 701 AD in the Tang imperial complex outside Changan. A variety of hunting hounds were brought to China from Samarkand and Kucha during the Tang Dynasty, as they were in great demand for imperial hunting expeditions.

Although this item has not been authenticated, the donor has told us that he bought it from "a very reputable antiques dealer at Shangri-La Antiques Gallery in Honolulu, Hawaii".