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China

Grave Guardian Beast (Zhenmu Shou)

Warring States period (480–221 BCE), 4th or 3rd century BCE
Wood with polychrome pigments and lacquer horns
25.5 × 20 cm (10 × 7.9 in)

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● On view now — Gallery 133

Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · verified July 2026

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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

Antlered creatures with long, protruding tongues are the most distinctive burial gifts that have been discovered in Chu tombs. "Antler and tongue" figures may have been used in shamanistic rituals or may represent local deities. Typically centered at the head of the coffin, perhaps to protect the deceased from evil, such grotesque images assume a variety of forms with single or double heads. The painted scrollwork on this example is unusually well preserved.

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