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I got this as a gift and I originally thought it was a foo dog but it has both paws on turtles, not on a cub or ball as foo dogs do. It may be a Pi Yao or Pixiu but I'm not so sure. Image

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Since it has hooves (not paws), scales, and horns, it is almost certainly a qilin or "Chinese unicorn". I don't know why it is standing on four turtles, except that the turtle and qilin were two of the sishou or "four divine creatures", along with the phoenix and dragon.

They could be guarding dragon and phoenix eggs (the red spheres are different sizes) but this is just a guess.

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  • I dont see the horns facing directly upward....
    – bleh
    May 11, 2016 at 2:04
  • OP's statue isn't the most artfully modeled one. Anyway, the qilin is represented in numerous ways; the second link contains qilin carvings almost identical (sans turtles and eggs) to the one in OP.
    – Spencer
    May 11, 2016 at 2:26
  • True, just pointing it out.
    – bleh
    May 11, 2016 at 15:45
  • Horns look like goat's horns.
    – Ken Graham
    May 12, 2016 at 4:48
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    It also appears to have scales like a qilin.
    – T.E.D.
    May 12, 2016 at 13:31

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