A SANDSTONE GUARDIAN

TANG DYNASTY, 7TH/8TH CENTURY

Details
A SANDSTONE GUARDIAN
Tang Dynasty, 7th/8th Century
Wearing full armor with lion-mask pendant below the belted waist, the head tilted slightly to his left, the body counterpoised, lion-mask epaulettes at the shoulder
23in. (59cm.) high

Lot Essay

For a white marble figure of an armour-clad guardian with bulging eyes and flat nose but different proportions and pose, see Saburo Matsubara, Chuugoku Bukkyo Chokokushi Ron, (The Path of Chinese Buddhist Sculpture) Japan, 1995, vol. 3, pl. 747; and another, ibid., pl. 784, carved in relief as a supporting figure