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Guardian Figure

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Guardian Figure

Place of OriginChina
DateTang Dynasty (618-907), Late 7th century
DimensionsH: 42 3/4 in. (118.6 cm)
MediumEarthenware with polychrome decoration
ClassificationSculpture
Credit LineGiven in memory of Charles and Anna Berdan Gardner by Darwin E. Gardner, Edith G. Carter, and Charles S. Gardner
Object number
1953.70
Not on View
Label TextThese menacing figures were often placed at each corner of a Tang Dynasty tomb chamber to ward off evil coming from any of the four directions. The Tang Dynasty was considered a golden age in China, during which ceramics reached an artistic and technical highpoint, culminating in figures made to furnish tombs—not only supernatural guardians, but also animals, dancers, musicians, and soldiers.
Guardian figure
12th century
Horse
T'ang Dynasty (700-750 CE)
Jug
Late 13th century
Platter
Bernard Palissy
about 1630
Netsuke: Tomoe with naginata
Gyokusen
20th century
Bishamonten, Guardian of the North
Kamakura Period
about 1250-1300
Netsuke: Seated Komainu guardian lion-dog
Kairakuen Garden kiln
late 19th century
Netsuke: Seated komainu guardian lion-dog
Nin'ami Dôhachi
late 19th century
Female Statuette
Iron Age I-II, about 1000-900 BCE
Seated Female Figurine
Late 6th millennium BCE (or Late 5th to 4th millennium BCE?)

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