CHINA ARQUEOLOGIA golden-age-chinese-archayeolog

to hold the wings, and a crown of deer antlers
emerges from its head. Wooden sculpture of
antlered creatures often served as tomb guardians
in Chu culture; the antlers of this figure and its
placement next to the double coffin of the marquis
have prompted many specialists to identify the
object as an auspicious creature intended to protect
the tomb and its owner from evil spirits. 5
Wooden sculpture of long-necked birds, sometimes
crowned with antlers, resting on tigers were
common in the Chu kingdom from the fifth century
to the end of the fourth century BCE. They were
carved for use in funerary ritual, generally as
drum stands. 6 Although the shape of the present
sculpture differs somewhat from the wooden models
carved by the Chu craftsmen (or at least from
known, published examples [see fig. i]), its mortiseand-tenon
joinery links the object to Chu wooden
sculpture.
This object was probably a drum stand. 7 The
antlers have a decidedly unnatural round shape,
while their tips and the beak of the bird are approx-
297 ZENGHOU Yl TOMB AT LEICUDUN