Grave guard Human faced lion as tomb guard China, Ming dynasty 1368 - 1644 Height 29 cm, length 16 cm Blue glazed fright animal as a tomb guard (Mingqi). Although lion-shaped, the animal has nothing to do with the Buddhist guardian lion, but rather stands in the tradition of the Zhenmushou, often man-faced monsters of the first millennium, whose purpose was to keep evil spirits away from the deceased. Stylistically, however, but especially through the monochrome blue-turquoise glaze, it stands out from the historical models and shows itself to be an original creation of the Ming artisans. We guarantee the specified age!