Pottery tomb figures, many of large size, were buried with the dead in cave-like tombs cut into stone cliffs in Sichuan province in the Han dynasty and into the Six Dynasties period. Large mastiff-like dogs such as the present example, as tall as 74 cm. to the tip of the ears, have been found in these tombs, while other smaller dogs are also common. They are generally depicted in alert postures, either seated or standing upright. A dog shown baring its teeth, snarling, was discovered in tomb. no. 2 at Majiashan, Xinduxian, and another in tomb no. 3 at Bijiashan, Suiningxian, in recent years. Wenwu ziliao congkan no. 9, Akiyama Terukazu, et al, Arts of China: Neolithic Cultures to the T'ang Dynasty--Recent Discoveries (Tokyo, 1968), nos. 304-307; Kaogu xuebao 1958, no. 1, (pp. 87-104), pl. IX; and Kaogu 1988, no. 3, p. 223, fig. 6:7.
The result of Oxford thermoluminescence test no. 666a37 on the body is consistent with the dating of this lot