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Guardian warrior
Tang dynasty (618–907), 7th century
Wood with pigments and gilding
H. 33 7/8 in. (86 cm)
Excavated from the tomb (dated 688) of Zhang Xiong and his wife, Astana, Turfan, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, 1973
Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Museum
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Chinese tombs dating from the late fifth through the eighth century often contain sets of four protective figures. Two of the figures are human, and two are bestial. Warrior guardians, standing on humanoid figures rather than animals, appear both in tombs and in Buddhist sanctuaries in the second half of the seventh century. This well-preserved example is made from more than thirty pieces of carved wood, which were covered with paper, glued at the joints, and painted and gilded. It comes from the seventh-century tomb of Zhang Xiong and his wife, members of the royal Qu family that ruled the Gaochang Kingdom (500–640) in the Turfan area until the Chinese conquest of the region in 640.A small figure of a woman, dressed in the fashionable clothing of the late seventh century, was also found in the tomb.
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