A VERY LARGE GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF A GUARDIANMing Dynasty The imposing figure finely cast standing on a separate kidney-shaped rockwork base, wearing a chain-mailpletely covering the body and extending down to the overlapping ruyi -decorated boots, the shoulders of both with high epaulettes and the belly with a large mask, a celestial scarf billowing up behind the head and trailing down to the base, with further knotted ribbons at the waist, the crisply cast face with a lively expression, surmounted by an elaborate pierced crown, holding a mace in his right hand, the left raised to the chest. 63cm (24 6/8in) high. 明 鎏金銅天王像 Provenance : a European private collection 來源 ：歐洲私人收藏 Figures of guardians, such as the present lot, were semi-divine creatures on earth whose function was to guard the four cardinal points of the world and sacred sites as Protectors of the Buddhist Law dharma . According to legends, the four guardian kings were present at every critical moment in the Buddha's life, helping him with his birth, carrying him when he left his father's place, offering him food before his enlightenment and attending his final nirvana . Guardian figures were usually attired as fierce warriors, dressed in interlocking-chain armour and wearing elaborate helmets; they stand in a dramatic pose with flaming aureoles behind their heads representing the Buddhist Law. Their long scarves billowing around their bodies show the celestial nature of their wearers. pare with two related gilt-bronze guardian figures, Ming dynasty, with stylisticallyparable detailed outfit, in the Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, illustrated by H.Munsterberg, Chinese Buddhist Bronzes , Tokyo, 1967, pls.93 and 94. See also two further related gilt-bronze figures of guardians, Ming dynasty, illustrated in The Crucible ofpassion and Wisdom , Taipei, 1987, nos.120-121. A related but larger gilt-bronze figure of a guardian, late 15th-16th century, was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 26 November 2014, lot 3111.