Japanese antique carving of a dragon. Carved of hinoki wood, lacquered and painted with gold and polychrome mineral pigments. This dragon once graced the inside of a Buddhist shrine in a prominent household or temple. Both the carving and the painting is masterfully done with details to the individual scales, long metal whiskers and reverse-painted-glass eyes.
Symbolic of strength, power and transformation, the dragon can also represent nobility and wisdom.

Age: Edo Period (1603-1868)

Dimensions: 9" high x 40" long x 7" deep