Architectural Tile with Sha Wùjìng

The book "Journey to the West," published in the late 16th century, is a combination of fact, fancy, and allegory that tells of the adventures of a Chinese Buddhist monk who goes on a search for Buddhist scriptures. The monk first encounters the main figure in this statue, Sha Wùjìng, as a demon guarding a river. Sha Wùjìng eventually becomes the third of the monk's three helpers. The first (a small figure on the right) is a monkey; the second (on the left) has the face of a pig. The tile is glazed in dark, crackled and mottled greens and browns.