NORTHERN WEI DYNASTY (386-534)

Earth spirits, such as the present figures, would have been placed at the entrance of tombs to guard the deceased in the afterlife. Typically, these earth spirits were made in pottery, such as the pair of Northern Wei date sold in these rooms, 21 March 2002, lot 97. It was these pottery models which would have provided the inspiration for the present pair. However, examples of earth spirits in stone and other materials appear to be extremely rare, and no other similar pair appears be published. Perhaps the most closely related stone figures are those of more leonine form, illustrated by O. Siren in Chinese Sculpture from the Fifth to the Fourteenth Century, Thailand, 1998 reprint, pls. 189A-B, 190A-B, 191A-B, and 197A-B, where they are all dated to the Western and Eastern Wei dynasties and attributed to the Henan region.