TANG DYNASTY (618-907)

Compare two similarly attired guardian figures, with equally stern expressions, excavated from Tang dynasty tombs in Luoyang, Henan province: one from the tomb of Li Yanzhen, buried in 709, illustrated in Kaogu, 1984:10, pl. 6:3; the other from the tomb of Li Siben, also buried in 709, illustrated in Kaogu xuebao, 1989:3, pl. 2:2. The latter is especially similar in facial expression, armor and pose, including the position of the hands. Compare, also, the single figure sold at Christie's New York, 27 November 1991, lot 293.