This painting of Virūpākṣa, Guardian of the West, probably dates to the ninth century, when the Tibetans were in control of the Southern Silk Road. He is depicted in his usual martial garb trampling on a yakṣa or demon. This would have been hung outside the temple doors as protection. Most of the statue groupings in the cave temples at Dunhuang contain clay statues of Guardian Kings.
Ink and pigments on silk
The British Museum,
1919,0101,0.106 (Ch.xlix.007)