1-234-741 - The Museum of East Asian Art/Heritage Images

Dated gilt bronze door guardian figure, Wanli period, Ming dynasty, 1614. A large gilded cast bronze figure of a door guardian (possibly the Daoist God, Fuxi), with flaring hair headdress still with traces of cinnebar. The figure is holding a small pot or ball in one hand and a pearl or bead in the other. The guardian is seated on a holey square plinth with a long inscription in relief on the reverse recording it was made for the Shang family in the 42nd year of Wanli (ie 1614) and giving the names of the donors who paid for its casting.