Image: Guardian figures, earthenware with pigment, Tang Dynasty

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Description: A pair of Chinese Buddhist guardian statues made of earthenware and pigments, from the Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD), dated to the late 7th to first half of the 8th century. The caption for these artworks at the Metropolitan Museum of Art states:

The foreign facial features of this pair of brilliantly sculpted guardian figures evidence the strong Western presence in Tang-dynasty China. Originating in the Lokapala deity of the Buddhist religion, which came to China from the West, this type of armored tomb guardian had an apotropaic function in Chinese burials.
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Science and technology of the Tang dynasty

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