+ MAN WITH A TIGER, China, Qing Dynasty, 19th century

The sculpture shows a man (one of the Immortals?) In the company of a tiger. The menacing pose of the man suggests that he should be a guardian or a fighter. The wooden sculpture is covered with thick polychrome (lacquer, traces of gilding) with embossed patterns. At the back of the sculpture there is a hiding place - a reliquary, it looks like it was opened in the past.