‘ZHENMUSHOU’, TOMB PROTECTIVE CREATURE WITH A SNAKE

Description This small zhenmushou has climbed on an oval hoof, twisting to the left, with its right leg raised. It has an asymmetrical and irregular shape, and appears to have been made by assembling parts obtained from different clays or from spurious earth. The creature has its snout contracted in a grimace and its canines in sight. It has two long horns on its forehead with the tips pointing forward; behind it, the mane rises stiffly like a lanceolate membrane. On the shoulders, on the left side a sort of wing emerges, on the other a long pointed outgrowth facing upwards, which takes the shape of the tail – in turn upright and detached from the body - and gives a slender appearance to the figure. The three visible legs end in three hooked claws. The front right leaps menacingly against a tangled snake on its left leg, lying low, as the reptile reaches toward the zhenmushou's head.