Tri-color Glazed Chimera

Tags: chimera | craft | glaze

The glaze coloring on this piece is mostly cream, yellow, brown, green, and light blue. There is a round kernel on the forehead between the eyes, and the fierce fangs and facial expression give off a frightening, intimidating feeling. The legs with their horse-hoof shape, the horn on the head, and the decorations on the back are unglazed; but the rest of the piece is all glazed. The decorations are quite fascinating. There are a torch shaped object and three horns projecting from the top of the head. There are decorative patterns intaglio-carved on the front of the chest. There are four flame-shaped wings. There are flame-shaped green decorations on the legs and the horse-hoof feet. There are also green flower-stem snake-shaped objects decorating the ceramic platform. These types of decorations are rarely seen on other grave guardians. This chimera is the largest of its kind in the world currently. It is intricately formed, made with precise proportioning, and well preserved. 

 

National Museum of History