Buddhist Gatekeeper Stone Statue
The statue of the gatekeeper god from the 8th century is now housed in the Minneapolis Museum of Art in the United States. This type of statue is usually located at the entrance of Buddhist cave sanctuaries and temple complexes, with the purpose of obstructing any forces opposing Buddhist thought. Therefore, they are vividly depicted as energetic postures, threatening facial expressions, exaggerated muscle structures, and ready to face all threats. The basic posture of this rare Tang Dynasty work, with its surrealism and complete plasticity, represents a style that had a huge impact on the Buddhist guardian image carved during the Kamakura period in Japan (1185-1333).
