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Hello! Wondering if anyone can tell me what I have here? I bought it from a reputable dealer who labeled it as a "Genuine Chinese Household Protector". I did a little research on the internet, and I believe it is a Buddhist statue called a Lokapala. It seems much more crude than similar pieces I found on the internet. The guardian has his foot on a tailed animal which resembles a cat. It is carved of wood. It stands about 9.5 inches tall. It has several layers of paint which can be seen at the base of the robe. There are some missing layers of paint, and I can see green, red, and white paint exposed. The piece looks as if it has been varnished, and the varnish has the "alligator" look on the back and sides. The back has two compartments cut out. I'm not sure if anything was put it the square cut-out at the bottom, but the rectangular cut-out on the guardian's back looks like it would have had a cover. The exposed wood in the bottom cut-out is much darker than the one in the back, so I'm assuming it has been exposed much longer. I have a few questions...1)Is it authentic? 2)Age? 3)Place of origin? 4)What was the purpose of the cut-outs on the back? 5)Is the piece a form of Chinese Folk Art? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I've added several photos below. Thanks to all! Mike

Hello,

This is a Chinese wooden statue found in temples, as an offering.
The hole in the back used to be covered by a wooden lid and contains a message from the owner to a God, asking for protection/good health and othe favours.

1)Is it authentic? Yes it is

2)Age? Late Ming-early Qing dynasty. Probably 18th century,maybe 17th, according to the technique used to paint the statue.

3)Place of origin? China

4)What was the purpose of the cut-outs on the back?
The top hole is to place a message/pray and some other little things like herbs/insects...The cover is missing.
Hole on the bottom, no purpose, it's the carving style.

5)Is the piece a form of Chinese Folk Art? It's a religious common statue.

It is not a lokapala. Those are found in tombs to scare away the spirits and were used often during older dynasties such as Tang dynasty.

Cheers

Thank you so much for your detailed explanation--very helpful!

Dear Mike,

I would rather think that your statue represents a Dharmapala - guardian of the Dharma and protector of the faith - commonly worshipped as the God of Wealth in China. Wearing the Ming style hat of a civil dignitary, he's standing in a warrior pose on a submitted black tiger (rather similar to a cat than a tiger in your statue ;) ).

Pierre is totally right about the use of the hole in the back side of the statue.

As another example, I copy below some pictures of a votive (probably Chinese Republic) statue of my collection which still has a small doll in cotton and recent prayers in the hole, much more recent than the statue itself as those statues could be used several times by the family.

Best regards,

Nicolas

Nicolas, Thanks for your post! I've been doing some more research online, and I think I've identified the deity. I believe it is the Chinese God of Wealth, Tsai Shen Yeh (or just Tsai Shen). He is often depicted wearing a black beard, riding or standing on a tiger, holding a whip or sword in one hand, and holding a gold ingot in the other. Looking more closely at my statue, it does appear the raised hand once held something. I can clearly see a hole on the inside of his hand, and there is a remnant of a handle of some sort which can be seen on the outside of the hand.

I'm glad you mentioned the Ming hat, as this corroborates Pierre's date of late Ming to early Qing.

I've added a link to a very similar (but much more detailed) Tsai Shen statue.

Good work Mike and Nicolas,

After having a closer look and comparing, I 'm very sure it is late Ming.
The techniques of varnishing, under layers etc... are the one used in the 17th century/early 18th.
The color aspect also.

And yes, it is the God of Wealth.

Enjoy.

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