{
"data": {
"id": 161426,
"accession_number": "2000.118",
"share_license_status": "CC0",
"tombstone": "Tomb Guardians (\u93ae\u5893\u7378), early 700s. China, probably Shaanxi province, Xi'an, Tang dynasty (618-907). Glazed earthenware, sancai (three-color) ware; part 1: 92.3 x 43.8 x 41.9 cm (36 5/16 x 17 1/4 x 16 1/2 in.); part 2: 88.9 x 41 x 50.8 cm (35 x 16 1/8 x 20 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of various donors to the department of Asian Art (by exchange), 2000.118",
"current_location": "239 Chinese Ceramics and Metalwork",
"title": "Tomb Guardians",
"title_in_original_language": "\u93ae\u5893\u7378",
"creation_date": "early 700s",
"creation_date_earliest": 700,
"creation_date_latest": 725,
"artists_tags": [],
"culture": [
"China, probably Shaanxi province, Xi'an, Tang dynasty (618-907)"
],
"technique": "glazed earthenware, sancai (three-color) ware",
"support_materials": [],
"department": "Chinese Art",
"collection": "China - Tang Dynasty",
"type": "Ceramic",
"measurements": "Part 1: 92.3 x 43.8 x 41.9 cm (36 5/16 x 17 1/4 x 16 1/2 in.); Part 2: 88.9 x 41 x 50.8 cm (35 x 16 1/8 x 20 in.)",
"dimensions": {
"part 1": {
"height": 0.923,
"height_inch": 36,
"height_inch_fraction": 0.3125,
"width": 0.438,
"width_inch": 17,
"width_inch_fraction": 0.25,
"depth": 0.419,
"depth_inch": 16,
"depth_inch_fraction": 0.5
},
"part 2": {
"height": 0.889,
"height_inch": 35,
"height_inch_fraction": 0.0,
"width": 0.41,
"width_inch": 16,
"width_inch_fraction": 0.125,
"depth": 0.508,
"depth_inch": 20,
"depth_inch_fraction": 0.0
}
},
"state_of_the_work": null,
"edition_of_the_work": null,
"copyright": null,
"inscriptions": [],
"exhibitions": {
"current": [
{
"id": 666891,
"title": "Demons, Ghosts, and Goblins in Chinese Art",
"description": "Demons, Ghosts, and Goblins in Chinese Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 8, 2024-January 20, 2025).",
"opening_date": "2024-09-08T04:00:00"
}
],
"legacy": []
},
"provenance": [
{
"description": "(Kaikodo America Inc., New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)",
"citations": [],
"footnotes": [],
"date": "?-2000",
"sortorder": 1
},
{
"description": "The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH",
"citations": [],
"footnotes": [],
"date": "2000-",
"sortorder": 2
}
],
"find_spot": null,
"related_works": [],
"former_accession_numbers": [],
"did_you_know": "Sancai (three-color) glazes in green, amber, and transparent white, plus expensive cobalt blue glaze, show the high social status of the tomb\u2019s occupant.",
"early_education_description": null,
"artlens_description": null,
"description": "With fierce expressions, elongated spikes, and exaggerated physical features, these two fantastic creatures were intended to guard the entrance to a tomb, warding off evil as well as keeping the soul of the deceased from wandering. Known as qitou, or earth spirits, both sculptures differ in appearance: one has an animal face, claws, and a pair of antlers; the other sports a human face with huge ears, hooves, and a short horn.",
"external_resources": {
"wikidata": [
"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q60751622"
],
"internet_archive": [
"https://archive.org/details/clevelandart-2000.118-tomb-guardians"
]
},
"citations": [
{
"citation": "Cleveland Museum of Art, \u201cTomb Guardian Pair from Tang Dynasty Acquired by CMA,\u201d December 12, 2000, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives.",
"page_number": null,
"url": "https://archive.org/details/cmapr4361"
},
{
"citation": "May, Sally Ruth, Jane Takac, and Barbara J. Bradley. Knockouts: A Pocket Guide. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2001.",
"page_number": "Reproduced: cat. no. 79, p. 74- 75; Mentioned: p. 119",
"url": null
},
{
"citation": "Franklin, David and C. Griffith Mann. Treasures from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2012.",
"page_number": "Reproduced: pp. 74-75",
"url": null
},
{
"citation": "\u201cA Selection of 2001 Museum Acquisitions.\u201d Apollo: The International Magazine of Art & Antiques 154 (December 2001): 24\u201357.",
"page_number": "p. 27",
"url": ""
},
{
"citation": "\"Major Acquisitions: 2000-2005.\" Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 45, no. 6 (July/August 2005): 6-19.",
"page_number": "Mentioned: P. 7; Reproduced: P. 9",
"url": ""
},
{
"citation": "Chung, Anita. \"Chinese Masterworks.\" Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 53, no. 5 (September/October 2013): 14-15.",
"page_number": "Mentioned and reproduced: P. 14",
"url": ""
},
{
"citation": "Bidwell, Frederick E. and Leslie Cade. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland]: Cleveland Museum of Art; New York, NY: Scala Arts Publishers, 2014.",
"page_number": "Mentioned and reproduced: P. 95",
"url": ""
},
{
"citation": "Von Spee, Clarissa. \"Good or Evil? Demons, ghosts, and goblins in Chinese art.\u201d Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine vol. 64, no. 3 (2024): 10\u201311.",
"page_number": "Reproduced and Mentioned: p. 10",
"url": "https://archive.org/details/CMAMM-2024-03/page/10/mode/2up"
}
],
"url": "https://clevelandart.org/art/2000.118",
"images": {
"annotation": null,
"web": {
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"width": "900",
"height": "644",
"filesize": "244934",
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"print": {
"url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2000.118/2000.118_print.jpg",
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"alternate_images": [
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"date_created": "2012-10-18T13:54:58",
"annotation": ""
}
],
"creditline": "Gift of various donors to the department of Asian Art (by exchange)",
"image_credit": null,
"sketchfab_id": null,
"sketchfab_url": null,
"gallery_donor_text": "Clara T. Rankin Galleries of Chinese Art",
"athena_id": 161426,
"creators": [],
"legal_status": "accessioned",
"accession_date": "2000-12-04T00:00:00",
"sortable_date": 700,
"date_added_to_oa": null,
"date_text": "early 700s",
"collapse_artists": false,
"on_loan": false,
"recently_acquired": false,
"record_type": "cover",
"conservation_statement": null,
"has_conservation_images": false,
"cover_accession_number": null,
"is_nazi_era_provenance": false,
"impression": null,
"alternate_titles": [
"Tomb Guardian with Animal Head"
],
"is_highlight": false,
"updated_at": "2026-05-29 08:23:37.283000"
}
}