# Tomb Guardian with Animal Head

- Date: early 700s
- Medium: glazed earthenware, sancai (three-color) ware
- Classification: Ceramic
- Dimensions: Overall: 92.3 x 43.8 x 41.9 cm (36 5/16 x 17 1/4 x 16 1/2 in.)
- Culture: China, probably Shaanxi province, Xi'an, Tang dynasty (618-907)
- Credit line: Gift of various donors to the department of Asian Art (by exchange)
- Museum: [Cleveland Museum of Art](https://clevelandart.org/art/2000.118.1)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2000.118.1/2000.118.1_web.jpg
- Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

With their fierce expressions and exaggerated physical features, fantastic guardian creatures were intended to guard the entrance to a tomb, warding off evil as well as keeping the soul of the deceased from wandering. Known as "earth spirits" or qitou, this one has an animal face and a pair of antlers growing above its eyebrows; the other sports a human face with huge protruding ears and a short horn surrounded by fiery, twisting hair. Their many elongated spikes heighten the fearful intensity.

Before tomb sculptures were placed in the tomb, they were carried through the streets in a funerary procession. Funerary gifts provided the deceased with means for the afterlife. They were also an expression of filial piety and demonstrated the wealth and power of the descendants.