The lion is a sacred animal in Buddhism, but the animal is not indigenous to China and the theme was borrowed from the West Asia, appearing first in Chinese ornament in the Tang period (618–906). During the Song dynasty (960–1279), the motif entered ceramics through decorative woven silks. Later, a much less ferocious version was devised in which a pair of lions chase one another around a flaming pearl, replaced in the Ming period (1368–1644) by a ball with long ribbons.

The lion is a sacred animal in Buddhism and lions playing with brocaded balls may have the same auspicious meaning as dragons chasing pearls. The lion first appears as a motif in the decorative arts during the Tang dynasty (618–907) and on Chinese ceramics during the Song dynasty (960–1279).

Within ceramics, the motif appears to derive from the silks of the Northern Song period (960–1127). Lions playing with brocaded balls appear later and are probably related to the Chinese tradition of lion cubs emerging from balls as if hatching from eggs.