Tomb guardian as civil official
Datelate 7th to first half of the 8th century
Maker
Chinese
Label TextThis guardian wears a courtly hat and clothing with stamped designs. His hands are formally folded together underneath his robes like a civil official, and his moustache and beard suggest foreign origins. Given the regulations regarding the size and numbers of burial figures, this large piece was likely part of a set made for an elaborate aristocratic burial.
Unlike other painted guardians in the museum's collection, this one is decorated with a vibrant sancai (tricolor) glaze in white, amber, and green. In lead-based glazed wares, the body is first hardened at high temperature and then fired again at low temperature after the glazes are applied. This technique first developed in northern China around the late 7th century and was used mostly for funerary wares, although utilitarian sancai vessels were exported to Japan and as far west as Egypt.
Object number46.153
Photo CreditPhoto: Paul Macapia
Exhibition HistoryPortland, Oregon, Portland Art Museum, Gift to a City: Masterworks from the Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection in the Seattle Art Museum, Nov. 3 - 28, 1965. Cat. no. 33.
Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, The Museum: Mixed Metaphors, Fred Wilson, Jan. 28 - June 13, 1993. Text by Patterson Sims. No cat. no., reproduced p. 29.
Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Timeless Grandeur: Art from China, Apr. 25, 2002 - June 12, 2005.
Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Chinese Art: A Seattle Perspective, Dec. 22, 2007 - July 26, 2009.
Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Boundless: Stories of Asian Art, Feb. 8, 2020 - ongoing.Published References"Gift to a City" exhibition catalogue. Portland, OR: Portland Art Museum, 1965, cat. no. 33Credit LineEugene Fuller Memorial Collection
Dimensions40 1/2 x 9 x 7 in. (102.87 x 22.86 x 17.78 cm)
MediumEarthenware with sancai (tricolor) glaze
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