This plain rectangular strip of ivory paper weight is from the late Ming and early Qing period. Chinese paperweights were usually made from brass, iron, porcelain, jade or red sandalwood. Its simple design draws attention to the natural beauty of the ivory grain. The late Ming brass paperweight is cast in the form of a crouching lion with an alluring expression. The carving is bold and precise. So wide-ranging in styles and imaginative in design were paperweights that artists saw them as a source of inspiration.
