Heavenly King, Tang dynasty, 618 - 906 CE. Probably excavated in Luoyang, Henan Province. Earthenware with three-color, sancai, glaze. height 126 cm. National Museum of Chinese History, Beijing.

This fierce looking warrior, wearing elaborate armor, is a tomb guardian, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, representing the four cardinal directions. Originally this type of figure functioned as a lokepala, a Buddhist guardian figure trampling a bull or a demon, representing ignorance, the enemy of the Law.