Antique rose wood lion carving

Found at estate sale. Not sure of its origin. Beautiful carving...seems very, very old. I couldn''t trace it at all. The best part is the old paint on it. The tail is broke at the base, seems like someone tried to repair years ago. Not with glue, but a tiny nail. Even the nail is old. The hinge for the back is that cool little star tip nail. Also, for some reason to me...not sure, but the teeth seem real. I dont know that for sure though. Very interesting piece. Its dimensions are 11.5x4x6.5 inches tallest tail point.