Dog statues in stone sculpture of Việt Nam

Dog, one of the wild animals, was early domesticated by humans. With their intelligent and loyal instinct, dogs have always been valued and become the human’s friend.

Dogs’ image has been tied to auspiciousness that drives away the bad, eliminates the evil, and make people feel safe and peaceful. Therefore, dogs have been generalized to be an art symbol. They have been sculptured in stone statues and placed in front of house’s gates or religious institutes etc.

The image of dogs has not only appeared in the Việt’s culture but also presented in the legends of other ethnic groups.

In the research and collecting trip within the context of the Collecting Scheme in 2014, the Thanh Hóa Museum organized investigation and collected objects in some localities in the province. Yên Thịnh Commune, Yên Định District, the land of Mường culture in the past, was one of the sites. Here the Museum found a pair of dog statues sculptured from stone.

    

Dog statues found in Yên Thịnh Commune, Yên Định District, Thanh Hoá Province

Each statue is 68,5cm high; the platform’s height is 10cm. It shows a dog in a sitting position with the two front legs standing straight and two small hind legs. Its body is slimly cylinder with protruding chest. Its head is a square block with rounded angles; two overhead round eyes are emerged; the bridge of the nose is straight and high, and its nostrils are expanded; the mouth has horizontally rectangle shape with the tongue sticking out.

Based on their shape and the art of forming them, it could be said that these two statues date back to the period from the 17^th century to the 18^th century.

These two dog statues are valuable art material that will enrich the Việt Nam’s stone sculpture, especially the processing and use of dog image in Vietnamese culture.

Hoàng Thị Vân