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A
pair of guardians
Earthenware with red pigment
Northern
Wei Dynasty (385-535)
Height: 35 cm
T.L.
Oxford
Unglazed
pottery representations of foreign military officers attired in armours and
protective helmet. Their features are sharply carved with strong facial
expressions and eyes wide open . They are wearing a sleeveless leather cuirass
which is attached with belts on the shoulders and a inner garment with wide
loose sleeves and large trousers. The large sleeves are tied with knots.The
guardians were holding swords which were probably in wood and now disappeared.
An equal amount attention to the details of the clothing was paid to the front
and the back. These figures were painted after firing. These would have been
placed inside the tomb on either side of the door serving as guardian charged
with the task of preventing evil spirits interfering with the journey of the
tomb occupant's soul. Tomb guardians have a long history, going back to the
Warring States at least, but they achieved their finest flourishing during the
Wei, Sui and Tang dynasties.
Conditions: Very good, with limited restorations. The
polychrome decoration is mostly original.
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