id:			161427
accession number:	2000.118.1
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/2000.118.1
updated:		2022-01-04 17:28:27.357000

Tomb Guardian with Animal Head, early 700s. China, probably Shaanxi province, Xi'an, Tang dynasty (618-907). Glazed earthenware, sancai (three-color) ware; overall: 92.3 x 43.8 x 41.9 cm (36 5/16 x 17 1/4 x 16 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of various donors to the department of Asian Art (by exchange) 2000.118.1

title:				Tomb Guardian with Animal Head
title in original language:	鎮墓獸
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			early 700s
creation date earliest:		700
creation date latest:		725
current location:		239 Chinese Ceramics and Metalwork
creditline:			Gift of various donors to the department of Asian Art (by exchange)
copyright:			

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culture:	China, probably Shaanxi province, Xi'an, Tang dynasty (618-907)
technique:	glazed earthenware, sancai (three-color) ware
department:	Chinese Art
collection:	China - Tang Dynasty
type:		Ceramic
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Overall: 92.3 x 43.8 x 41.9 cm (36 5/16 x 17 1/4 x 16 1/2 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

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PROVENANCE

	(Kaikodo America Inc., New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
	date: ?-2000
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: 2000-
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact: 
<em>Sancai</em> (three-color) glazes in green, amber, and transparent white, plus expensive cobalt blue glaze, show the high social status of the tomb’s occupant.

digital description: 


wall description: 
With their fierce expressions and exaggerated physical features, fantastic guardian 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 "earth spirits" or <em>qitou</em>, this one has an animal face and a pair of antlers growing above its eyebrows; the other sports a human face with huge protruding ears and a short horn surrounded by fiery, twisting hair. Their many elongated spikes heighten the fearful intensity.<br><br>Before tomb sculptures were placed in the tomb, they were carried through the streets in a funerary procession. Funerary gifts provided the deceased with means for the afterlife. They were also an expression of filial piety and demonstrated the wealth and power of the descendants.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	Cleveland Museum of Art, “Tomb Guardian Pair from Tang Dynasty Acquired by CMA,” December 12, 2000, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives.
	page number: 	
	url:		https://archive.org/details/cmapr4361

	May, Sally Ruth, Jane Takac, and Barbara J. Bradley. <em>Knockouts: A Pocket Guide</em>. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2001.
	page number: 	Reproduced: cat. no. 79, p. 74- 75; Mentioned: p. 119
	url:		

	“A Selection of 2001 Museum Acquisitions.” <em>Apollo: The International Magazine of Art &amp; Antiques</em> 154 (December 2001): 24–57.
	page number: 	p. 27
	url:		

	Franklin, David and C. Griffith Mann. <em>Treasures from the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2012.
	page number: 	Reproduced: pp. 74-75
	url:		

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2000.118.1/2000.118.1_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2000.118.1/2000.118.1_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2000.118.1/2000.118.1_full.tif