An elaborate hand-sculpted ceramic figure of a Deva King, one of the warrior guardians of the four cardinal directions. In Mahayana Buddhism they are known as Lokapala, as Heavenly Guardians living in Mount Sumeru, where they guard the entrance to Sukhavati and protect the world from evil. This sculpted guardian with an umbrella in his right hand is identified as Virudhaka, Guardian of the South. He is wearing a winged helmet, an ornate suit of armor in carved relief, with a large lion-headed waist-belt, high boots and protective leg armors. The vibrant color is in vary hued cobalt blue, with a cream white glaze over a porcelain ground. Minor firing cracks and some glaze shrinkage. Marked in brush script: Great Ming Xuande Year made, 1426-1435 A.D.