Powerfully modeled with an intense expression on his bearded face, crowned by an elaborate phoenix-form headdress, standing atop a recumbent stag with one foot on its head and the other on its rump, his hands resting on the hilt of his sword, clad in floral robes with flared upright collar and fluttering sleeves extending from beneath his armor, all accented with traces of gilding.

Provenance: Dragon Treasures Antique, 8 August 2005

Note:  The result of Oxford Authentication Ltd test sample no. C106g16 is consistent with the dating of this lot.

A similar painted pottery guardian in the collection of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, is illustrated in The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: A Handbook of the Collection, New York, 1993, p. 293, and another similar figure, one of a pair, was sold at Christie's, New York, 22-23 March 2012, lot 1961. 

A rare large pair of painted and gilded pottery figures of lokapalas, Tang dynasty (618-907); 29¼ and 28¼ in. (74.3 and 71.9 cm.) high. Sold for 86,500 USD at Christie's, New York, 22-23 March 2012, lot 1961. © Christie's Images Ltd 2012

Bonhams. CHINESE WORKS OF ART AND PAINTINGS, 10 Sep 2018, 10:00 EDT, NEW YORK