Page 26 - Christie's Fine Chiense Works of Art November 2018 London

Zetian after the death of Emperor Gaozong. He was also
reinterred in the Qianling Mausoleum in 706 by his younger
brother Emperor Zhongzong. Prince Zhang Huai’s tomb
was excavated in 1971 and among the large sancai fgures
contained therein was a pair of guardian warriors in similar
pose to the current fgure (illustrated in National Treasure –
Collection of Rare Cultural Relics of Shaanxi Province, Xi’an,
1998, pp. 230-1). Emperor Zhongzong’s determination to
re-establish the nobility of the princess and the two princes
can be seen not only in the posthumous titles he bestowed
upon them but the grandeur of their new tombs with
fne murals and impressive sancai fgures. The contents
of these tombs also reinforce the importance of sancai
fgures in the burial practices of the Tang royal house and
aristocracy in the early 8th century.
The royal tomb sancai guardian warrior fgures were armoured
and helmeted in a similar fashion to the current fgure. Figures
such as these are often attired in a version of the zhanpao 戰袍 or
battledress of imperial guards. On the upper body they wear a
cuirass (breastplate and backplate fastened together), while the
shoulders are protected by a type of paultron and the forearms
by a type of vambrace, with greaves to protect the shins. These
were worn with a knee-length coat. Armour similar to this is
shown on imperial guards depicted in the murals on the walls
of Princess Yongtai’s tomb (illustrated in Wenwu, 1964, no. 1, pl.
VIf). As is frequently the case with guardian warriors of this type,
the current fgure stands with one hand resting on his hip and his
other arm raised with hand curled around to hold a weapon such
as a halberd, pike or spear. The weapon itself has not survived, Where the two guardian warrior fgures from a tomb have
probably because its shaft may have been made of wood. been preserved together they are usually depicted in mirror
image of each other’s stances. They are usually similarly
The guardian warriors are often called ‘lokapalas’who
dressed, but sometimes can wear diferent helmets and
appear at Indian Buddhist sites such as Bharhut in Madhya
accessories – for example one may have an extravagant
Pradesh as early as the 1st century BC (see R.E. Fisher,
horned headdress and fames on the shoulders, and the
‘Noble Guardians: The Emergence of the Lokapalas in
other have a military helmet, like that worn by the current
Buddhist Art’, Oriental Art, vol. 41, no. 2 (Summer), pp.
fgure. A pair of fgures of – one of each type, slightly
17-24). The group of four guardians, or Heavenly Kings,
smaller in size than the current fgure - was excavated
who guard the four directions, became established in the
in 1955 from Hansenzhai village 韓森寨村, Xi’an, Shaanxi
5th or 6th century. While four guardians appear on the
province (illustrated National Museum of Chinese History,
walls of Cave 285 at Dunhuang (dated to AD 538), Chinese
A Journey into China’s Antiquity, vol. 3, Sui Dynasty-Northern
guardian warriors usually appear in pairs, both at Buddhist
and Southern Song Dynasties, Beijing, 1997, no. 184).
sites and in tombs. It has been suggested by some scholars
that the Chinese guardian warriors are based not on These large sancai tomb fgures were the preserve of the
lokapalas, but on dvarapalas – entryway guardians, although Tang elite, and indeed some of the kilns producing them
these latter fgures are not normally depicted in armour (see have been linked to the court. The current fgure would have
J.C.Y. Watt (ed.), China: Dawn of a Golden Age, 200-750 been particularly valuable since it has been decorated with
AD, op. cit., p. 330). Both the dvarapalas and the Chinese a generous amount of blue glaze. In Tang times the cobalt
guardian warriors are, however, characterised by the ferce used to create the blue glaze was imported into China and
expressions and threatening poses. This is in keeping with was expensive. It was thus generally used sparingly, unless
the protective role of the guardians, who, in the case of the the family commissioning the sancai ware belonged to the
Chinese tomb fgures, stood at the entrance to the tomb highest echelons of society, as would have been the case for
chamber and repelled evil spirits. the current fgure.

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