burial gift

• Tomb figure: Fabulous creature

• Asia collection,
• Exner collection,

• execution: Anonym, China, 7th to 8th century

• Tang dynasty (618-907)

• Religion und Ritual

• Weißer Tonscherben mit Dreifarbenglasur (sancai),

• height: 79.7 cm

• KE 9276

• donation, 1948

• Asia Collection

Caring for the well-being of ancestors in the afterlife was one of the most pressing duties for families. Burial objects changed in the course of time; from the 3rd century B.C. onwards ceramic figures accompanied the deceased in the form of servants, soldiers, gods, and ghosts, but also animals. In very luxuriously accoutered tombs a group of large figures was installed in front of the actual burial chamber, consisting of court officials, (Buddhist) grave guards, and (Daoist) fabulous figures. This figure is a chimera combining the strengths of different animals needed for protecting the dead. In later times these guardian creatures can be found again on the roofs of temples and palaces. (Wieninger, Johannes)

on display

• burial gift, Tomb figure: Fabulous creature, Anonym, MAK Inv.nr. KE 9276

• https://sammlung.mak.at/en/collect/tomb-figure-fabulous-creature_47775

• 23.10.2024