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Guardian(Half human half beast) Pottery Figure, Northern Wei-Tang Dynasty
Located in seoul, KR
This guardian figure represents a fusion of human and beast, a common motif symbolizing protection
Category

Antique 15th Century and Earlier Chinese Han Antiquities

Materials

Pottery

Chinese Double Guardian Headrest, circa 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
two crouching mythical guardians with fearsome expressions meant to protect the sleeping owner from
Category

Antique Late 19th Century Chinese Qing Animal Sculptures

Materials

Porcelain

Pair of Chinese Mythical Guardian Charms
Located in Chicago, IL
intentions. We love the idea of nestling these whimsical beasts in a shady corner of a garden, guarding the
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Statues

Materials

Limestone

Tang Dynasty Mingqi Earth Spirit Tomb Guardians
Located in Dallas, TX
called earth spirits, or zhenmushou (grave-quelling beasts), these guardians took the form of fantastic
Category

Antique 15th Century and Earlier Chinese Han Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Pottery

Qing Dynasty Chinese Sancai Temple Guardian Figure
Located in Forney, TX
A large antique Chinese glazed Sancai pottery temple guardian figure, designed to ward off evil
Category

Antique 18th Century Sculptures and Carvings

Materials

Pottery

Chinese Ancient Hand Carved Wood Lion Guardian
Located in South Burlington, VT
winged, four-legged beasts, a form that was probably transmitted from Western Asia. Provenance: This
Category

Antique 15th Century and Earlier Chinese Antiquities

Materials

Wood

Asian Bronze Guardian Lion Sculpture, Nepal, 19th century
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Antique Asian bronze guardian lion Lion Sculpture, Nepal 19th Century. A bronze figure with traces
Category

Antique 19th Century Nepalese Tibetan Sculptures and Carvings

Materials

Brass, Bronze

Chinese Antique Hand Carved Mythical Winged Guardian Sculpture
Located in South Burlington, VT
bixie, tianlu, and even qilin- a sacred and auspicious beast from Chinese mythology, first recorded in
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Qing Garden Ornaments

Materials

Limestone

Chinese Guardian Fu Dog Ink Stone, c. 1800
Located in Chicago, IL
prepared his ink. A symbol of protection, the lion-like beast bears the features of a shih-tzu, a dog
Category

Antique Early 19th Century Chinese Qing Scholar's Objects

Materials

Limestone

19th Century Burmese Jewel Inlaid Bronze Temple Guardian
Located in Forney, TX
looking beast depicted in traditional Burmese iconography and important architecture, especially as a pair
Category

Antique Late 19th Century Asian Sculptures and Carvings

Materials

Bronze

Chinese Hardstone Carved Mythical Beast Rhyton Vessel, 20th Century
Located in Austin, TX
artificial "calcified" patination.  The pixiu is an ancient beast from Chinese mythology. Guardians
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Han Sculptures and Carvings

Materials

Jade

Pair of Japanese Gilt Wood Komainu, Guardian Lions, Early 20th Century, Japan
Located in Austin, TX
foo dogs or foo lions, Showa Period, 1920's, Japan. The two komainu, or guardian lions, are
Category

Vintage 1920s Japanese Showa Sculptures and Carvings

Materials

Glass, Cypress, Wood

A Pair of Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE) Pottery Earth Spirit Figures
Located in Chicago, IL
A beautiful and rare pair of "Earth Spirit" guardians from the Shaanxi province region along the
Category

Antique 15th Century and Earlier Chinese Tang Antiquities

Materials

Terracotta

Chinese Ming Dynasty Architectural Terracotta Roof Tile Figure Qilin Foo Dog pr
Located in Forney, TX
/ guardian lion), the crouching beast with legs back and flaming body depicted ready to pounce. Retaining
Category

Antique 16th Century Chinese Ming Sculptures and Carvings

Materials

Earthenware, Terracotta

Japanese Contemporary Blue Red Porcelain Vase by Master Artist, 2
Located in Takarazuka, JP
mythology. These "four Guardians" or "four Beasts" are phoenix, dragon, tiger and turtle. The artist is the
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Meiji Ceramics

Materials

Porcelain

18K Gold Early Victorian Agate Griffin Intaglio Signet Ring
Located in Venice, CA
reddish brown agate. In this classic rendition of the griffin, the winged beast has a curved tail and
Category

Antique 1830s British Victorian Signet Rings

Materials

Agate, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold

Ancient Greek 6th Century BC Griffin Coin 18K Gold Pendant
By Steven Battelle
Located in Soquel, CA
eagle. As the lion was the king of beasts and the eagle the king of birds, the griffin was thought be an
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Classical Greek Pendant Necklaces

Materials

18k Gold

Pair of Monumental Chinese Stone Spirit Way Tigers, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
spirit wander too far, these stone guardians served as eternal landmarks to guide the spirit back to its
Category

Antique Mid-19th Century Chinese Qing Statues

Materials

Limestone

Encaustic Painted Basalt Vase, Wedgwood, circa 1770
By Wedgwood
Located in Melbourne, Victoria
beautiful and enchanting that it could move even the natural world and charm wild beasts. Orpheus's skill
Category

Antique Late 18th Century English Neoclassical Pottery

Materials

Stoneware

Encaustic Painted Basalt Vase, Wedgwood, circa 1770
Encaustic Painted Basalt Vase, Wedgwood, circa 1770
Free Shipping
H 13.78 in W 8.67 in D 6.7 in
Cerberus, Italy, 17th Century
Located in Bruxelles, BE
guardian of the third circle of Hell. With his three mouths, Dante saw Cerberus as a beast that was
Category

Antique 17th Century Italian Renaissance Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Stone

Cerberus, Italy, 17th Century
Cerberus, Italy, 17th Century
H 31.5 in W 14.18 in D 27.17 in
Chinese lion sculpture , WEI DYNASTY PROBABLY
Located in Milano, IT
Wei dynasty. A mighty beast, sculpted from the very essence of strength, is poised in eternal
Category

Antique 15th Century and Earlier Chinese Qing Animal Sculptures

Materials

Stone

Chinese lion sculpture , WEI DYNASTY PROBABLY
Chinese lion sculpture , WEI DYNASTY PROBABLY
H 14.97 in W 18.12 in D 4.73 in
Antique Walter MacFarlane & Co English Cast Iron Royal Coat Of Arms Shield 61"
By Walter MacFarlane & Co
Located in Dayton, OH
lower right quarters of the shield feature the three guardian lions of England. In the top right is the
Category

Antique Mid-19th Century Wall-mounted Sculptures

Materials

Iron

Large Carved Wooden Temple Lion, Pixiu or Foo Dog
Located in Chillerton, Isle of Wight
Large Carved Wooden Temple Lion, Pixiu or Foo Dog This fierce looking beast dates from the 19th
Category

Antique Late 19th Century Tibetan Sculptures and Carvings

Materials

Paint

Japanese Porcelain Vase Red and Blue by Contemporary Master Artist
Located in Takarazuka, JP
porcelain vase depicts three of the auspicious "four Guardians" in Chinese mythology. These "four Guardians
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Vases

Materials

Porcelain

Porcelain Vase Blue and Red by Japanese Contemporary Master Artist
Located in Takarazuka, JP
mythology. These "four Guardians" or "four Beasts" are phoenix, dragon, tiger and turtle. The artist is the
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Meiji Vases

Materials

Porcelain

Ancient Greek 5th Century BC Griffin Coin 22K Gold Ring
Located in Soquel, CA
considered the king of the beasts, and the eagle the king of the birds. Since classical antiquity, it was a
Category

Antique 15th Century and Earlier Balinese Classical Greek Fashion Rings

Materials

22k Gold

China 618-907 AD Tang Dynasty Pair Of Polychromate Earth Spirits Zhenmushou
Located in Miami, FL
pair of "Earths Spirits guardians" from the Yunnan province region in the ancient China. This was
Category

Antique 15th Century and Earlier Chinese Tang Antiquities

Materials

Earthenware, Pottery

All Time Adored
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
bond between humans and beasts, An ode to loyalty, forever renowned, In this masterpiece, harmony is
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Canvas

Celestial Map
By Laura Ball
Located in Denver, CO
the galaxy have been linked to beasts great and small. Tapping into the collective unconscious, Ball
Category

2010s Contemporary Paintings

Materials

Ink, Acrylic, Watercolor, Gouache, Graphite

Celestial Map
H 24.25 in W 20.25 in D 1.25 in
Master of Secrets (Lion Gates)
By Laura Ball
Located in Denver, CO
the galaxy have been linked to beasts great and small. Tapping into the collective unconscious, Ball
Category

2010s Contemporary Paintings

Materials

Ink, Acrylic, Watercolor, Gouache, Graphite

Master of Secrets (Lion Gates)
H 28.75 in W 24.25 in D 1.25 in
The Perfect Moment (Solar Mandala)
By Laura Ball
Located in Denver, CO
the galaxy have been linked to beasts great and small. Tapping into the collective unconscious, Ball
Category

2010s Contemporary Paintings

Materials

Ink, Acrylic, Watercolor, Gouache, Graphite

Space/Time
By Laura Ball
Located in Denver, CO
the galaxy have been linked to beasts great and small. Tapping into the collective unconscious, Ball
Category

2010s Contemporary Paintings

Materials

Ink, Acrylic, Watercolor, Gouache, Graphite

Space/Time
H 25.25 in W 21.5 in D 1.25 in
Tiger Gates
By Laura Ball
Located in Denver, CO
the galaxy have been linked to beasts great and small. Tapping into the collective unconscious, Ball
Category

2010s Contemporary Paintings

Materials

Ink, Acrylic, Watercolor, Gouache, Graphite

Tiger Gates
H 29.5 in W 26.5 in D 1.25 in
Let the soft animal of your body love what it loves
By Laura Ball
Located in Denver, CO
the galaxy have been linked to beasts great and small. Tapping into the collective unconscious, Ball
Category

2010s Contemporary Paintings

Materials

Ink, Acrylic, Watercolor, Gouache, Graphite

A Spark and a Rush
By Laura Ball
Located in Denver, CO
the galaxy have been linked to beasts great and small. Tapping into the collective unconscious, Ball
Category

2010s Contemporary Paintings

Materials

Ink, Acrylic, Watercolor, Gouache, Graphite

A Spark and a Rush
H 34.75 in W 30 in D 1.25 in
Portable Universe
By Laura Ball
Located in Denver, CO
the galaxy have been linked to beasts great and small. Tapping into the collective unconscious, Ball
Category

2010s Contemporary Paintings

Materials

Ink, Acrylic, Watercolor, Gouache, Graphite

Portable Universe
H 24 in W 24 in D 1.25 in
Separation of Earth and Sky (Blake)
By Laura Ball
Located in Denver, CO
the galaxy have been linked to beasts great and small. Tapping into the collective unconscious, Ball
Category

2010s Contemporary Paintings

Materials

Ink, Acrylic, Watercolor, Gouache, Graphite

Gateway to the Caverns of Universal Knowledge (Seraph Mandala)
By Laura Ball
Located in Denver, CO
the galaxy have been linked to beasts great and small. Tapping into the collective unconscious, Ball
Category

2010s Contemporary Paintings

Materials

Ink, Acrylic, Watercolor, Gouache, Graphite

The Burning One (Leopard Gates)
By Laura Ball
Located in Denver, CO
the galaxy have been linked to beasts great and small. Tapping into the collective unconscious, Ball
Category

2010s Contemporary Paintings

Materials

Ink, Acrylic, Watercolor, Gouache, Graphite

Cosmos
By Laura Ball
Located in Denver, CO
the galaxy have been linked to beasts great and small. Tapping into the collective unconscious, Ball
Category

2010s Contemporary Paintings

Materials

Ink, Acrylic, Watercolor, Gouache, Graphite

Cosmos
H 55.5 in W 46.5 in D 2 in
Expressive Court Lady in Orange Terracotta - Wei Dynasty, China '386-557 AD'
Located in San Pedro Garza Garcia, Nuevo Leon
.) Burial figurines of graceful dancers, mystical beasts, and everyday objects reveal both how people in
Category

Antique 15th Century and Earlier Chinese Antiquities

Materials

Terracotta

Exceptional and Rare Empire Chandelier Crystal Gilt Bronze and Patinated Brown
Located in CRÉTEIL, FR
(he is often represented as the guardian of the doors temples and palaces), magnanimity (he spares
Category

Antique 19th Century Empire Chandeliers and Pendants

Materials

Bronze

Very Elegant Tang Dynasty Dignitary in Orange Terracotta, China '618-907 AD'
Located in San Pedro Garza Garcia, Nuevo Leon
figurines of graceful dancers, mystical beasts, and everyday objects reveal both how people in early China
Category

Antique 15th Century and Earlier Chinese Tang Antiquities

Materials

Terracotta

Large Pair Patinated Life Size Bronze Statues Sculpture of Regal Big Cats Lions
Located in West Hollywood, CA
fine attention to details and rich manes. Guardian lions guarded the entrance to pyramid-age
Category

Mid-20th Century French Statues

Materials

Bronze

Pair of Japanese Gilt Bronze Komainu by Ishikawa Komei, Meiji Period
Located in Austin, TX
gilding further highlighting the strong musculature of these beasts. Their sharp faces, ending in wide
Category

Antique Late 19th Century Japanese Meiji Sculptures and Carvings

Materials

Bronze

Tang Dynasty Imposing Terracota Lokapala Standing in Menacing Pose - TL Tested
Located in San Pedro Garza Garcia, Nuevo Leon
, lokapala are the heavenly guardians of the four cardinal directions, and four figures would have been
Category

Antique 15th Century and Earlier Tang Antiquities

"Solice, Amboseli, Kenya" Contemporary African Elephant Family Framed Photograph
By David Burdeny
Located in Baltimore, MD
not mythical beasts, but earthly proprietors whose human tenants are both their greatest danger and
Category

2010s Contemporary Color Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment

19th Century Chinese Temple Architectural Corbel Carved Sculpture Pair
Located in Forney, TX
focal point, placed inside or outside, as a garden ornament, replacing your foo dogs, guardian lions
Category

Antique 19th Century Chinese Chinese Export Architectural Elements

Materials

Wood, Paint

Early 20th Century British illustration of a hornbill bird by Edward Detmold
By Edward Julius Detmold
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
engineer was chronically ill, and they lived with their uncle and guardian, Dr Edward Barton Shuldham, who
Category

20th Century Art Deco Animal Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink, Pen

Chimera (Pixiu) Terracotta Mythological Being - Tang Dynasty, China '618-907 AD'
Located in San Pedro Garza Garcia, Nuevo Leon
, mystical beasts, and everyday objects reveal both how people in early China approached death and how they
Category

Antique 15th Century and Earlier Chinese Tang Antiquities

Materials

Terracotta

Tang Dynasty Court Official in Sancai Glazed Robes, China '618-907' - TL Tested
Located in San Pedro Garza Garcia, Nuevo Leon
of graceful dancers, mystical beasts, and everyday objects reveal both how people in early China
Category

Antique 15th Century and Earlier Chinese Tang Antiquities

Materials

Terracotta

Snow, Geisha, Original Japanese Woodblock Print, Japanese Mythology, Ukiyo-e Art
By Toyohara Kunichika
Located in London, GB
mythological allusions, together the designs on these kimono suggest three of the four Guardian Beasts believed
Category

Mid-19th Century Other Art Style Figurative Prints

Materials

Washi Paper, Pigment, Woodcut, Handmade Paper

Pair of Chinese Brass Knockers
Located in SOMIS, CA
ancient mythical animals with a high level of artistic expression. The featured beasts are believed to be
Category

20th Century Chinese Metalwork

Materials

Brass

Pair of Chinese Brass Knockers
Pair of Chinese Brass Knockers
H 10.5 in W 7.75 in D 3 in
Antique Hand Beaten Brass Vessel, circa 1930
Located in Culver City, CA
mythology symbolizing gluttonous evil beasts able to communicate telepathically while there are historians
Category

Vintage 1930s Indonesian Planters and Jardinieres

Materials

Brass

Antique Hand Beaten Brass Vessel, circa 1930
Antique Hand Beaten Brass Vessel, circa 1930
H 10.25 in W 15.75 in D 15.75 in
Late Victorian Cast Iron Royal Coat of Arms
Located in York, GB
the three guardian lions of England. In the top right is the lion rampant, Scotland’s royal symbol. In
Category

Antique Late 19th Century Architectural Elements

Materials

Iron

Late Victorian Cast Iron Royal Coat of Arms
Late Victorian Cast Iron Royal Coat of Arms
H 37.8 in W 68.12 in D 5.91 in
Four Heavenly Guardians
Located in Hudson, NY
The Shitenno, or Four Heavenly Guardians, are the most frequently encountered of the Ten (Deva), or
Category

Antique 18th Century and Earlier Japanese Paintings and Screens

Painted Pottery Tomb Guardian Figures, Pair/ 6th Century/ Northern Qi Dynas
Located in Kyoto-shi, Kyoto
This is a pair of painted pottery tomb guardian figures from the Northern Qi Dynasty in China
Category

Antique 15th Century and Earlier Chinese Antiquities

Materials

Ceramic, Pottery

The disappearance of the guardian genius #5 Hélène Duclos, Contemporary painting
By Hélène Duclos
Located in Paris, FR
frustrated (moving populations, exile and migration…) Amidst a landscape roaming with wild beasts and hybrid
Category

2010s Contemporary Landscape Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

19th Century Chinese Wucai Celestial Roof Tiles
Located in Chicago, IL
eaves and ridges were often decorated with gods, animals, or mythical beasts. These Celestial Roof Tiles
Category

Antique 19th Century Chinese Ceramics

Materials

Ceramic

Pair of Tang Dynasty Pottery Tomb Sculptures of Earth Spirits
Located in New York, NY
This pair of ancient Chinese earth spirits, or zhenmushou (grave-quelling beasts), in unglazed
Category

Antique 15th Century and Earlier Chinese Tang Sculptures and Carvings

Materials

Pottery

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Guardian Beasts For Sale on 1stDibs

There is a range of guardian beasts for sale on 1stDibs. Each of these unique guardian beasts was constructed with extraordinary care, often using ceramic, terracotta and stone. We have 25 antique and vintage guardian beasts in-stock, while there are 2 modern editions to choose from as well. Guardian beasts have long been popular, with older editions for sale from the 18th Century and newer versions made as recently as the 21st Century. There have been many well-made guardian beasts over the years, but those made by Porcelaine de Paris are often thought to be among the most beautiful.

How Much are Guardian Beasts?

Prices for guardian beasts start at $235 and top out at $130,038 with the average selling for $6,000.