Seated Leonine Chimera, Probably a Guardian Creature, with Wings and Spiked Spine

Gallery Text

In Bronze Age China, people and animals were sometimes sacrificed and placed in elite tombs to serve and protect the spirit of the deceased. By the end of the third century BCE, philosophical admonitions against such cruel and wasteful funerary practices led to the increasing use of ceramic figurines as substitutes for sacrificial victims. Sculptures from Qin and Han dynasty tombs tended to depict people—warriors, servants, entertainers—with ethnically Chinese features and attire. Greater contact with foreign peoples began with the opening of trade routes to the West during the Han, however, and by the sixth century, ceramic tomb sculptures depicting foreigners and exotic animals became more common. Foreign merchants and grooms appear in tombs, as do camels. These representations are evidence of the cosmopolitan nature of post-Han society, at least among the elite. Guardian figures and mythical beasts, like the standing male and seated creature exhibited here, were intended to safeguard the tomb and were often depicted with fierce features designed to intimidate.

Although he bears no weapons, this figure’s helmet, cape, and boots suggest that he is a warrior. His bulging eyes, high cheekbones, large nose, heavy beard, and non-Chinese dress imply that he is a foreigner of Central Asian origin. The buck-toothed winged feline seated beside him was probably not made as his companion, but was one of a pair of guardian creatures; the original mate would likely have had a similar feline body with wings and spiked spine, but a human face. First appearing in the early sixth century, such “tomb-protecting animals” were meant to ward off evil; they became standard tomb denizens in succeeding periods.

Identification and Creation

Object Number: 2003.195
Title: Seated Leonine Chimera, Probably a Guardian Creature, with Wings and Spiked Spine
Classification: Sculpture
Work Type: funerary sculpture
Date: 550 - 618
Places: Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period: Northern Qi (550-577) to Sui (581-618) dynasty
Culture: Chinese
Persistent Link: https://hvrd.art/o/146525

Location

Location: Level 1, Room 1600, Early Chinese Art, Arts of Ancient China from the Bronze Age to the Golden Age

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Physical Descriptions

Medium: Lead-glazed ware: molded, buff earthenware with medium-green, lead-fluxed glaze; cold-painted pigments over localized unglazed areas
Dimensions: H. 43 x W. 16.5 x D. 24 cm (16 15/16 x 6 1/2 x 9 7/16 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History: Anthony M. Solomon, New York (by 2003), gift; to Harvard University Art Museums, 2003.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line: Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Anthony M. Solomon
Accession Year: 2003
Object Number: 2003.195
Division: Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact: am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions: The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request.

Publication History

Virginia Bower, From Court to Caravan: Chinese Tomb Sculptures from the Collection of Anthony M. Solomon, exh. cat., ed. Robert D. Mowry, Harvard University Art Museums (Cambridge, Mass., 2002), p. 104, cat. no. 27

Exhibition History

32Q: 1600 Early China II, Harvard Art Museums, 11/16/2014 - 01/01/2050

Subjects and Contexts

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Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

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2003.195: Seated Leonine Chimera, Probably a Guardian Creature, with Wings and Spiked Spine