Tang Dynasty pottery Zhenmushou guardian figure , 8th century AD

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Large terracotta pottery figure of a ‘Zhenmushou’ guardian figure, modelled sitting on his haunches with a ferocious scowl to his face, the surface with traces of elaborate painted decoration.
Tang Dynasty,
618-907 AD

53cm high

Reconstructed from fragments, some replacement including horns.

This character is a Zhenmushou, or ‘Earth Spirit’, and tombs of the wealthy contained one in each corner. Their purpose was probably two-fold; first, they would keep tomb robbers away, and secondly, they would keep the sprits of the deceased from roaming the outside world….. This winged lion form appears in the 6th century AD, and seems to have stopped being depicted with the end of the Tang dynasty in the early 10th century AD.

Provenance: American Collection

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