Bronze figure of the God of War, Guan Yu, literally translated as Emperor Guan, with raised eyebrows, long beard, partly detached, wearing full amour and helmet. The figure is seated on an armchair with dragonhead handles and animal mask at back, the arms bent and hands resting on the lap with the right hand clenched into a fist.
The donor, Dr Hildburgh, was born in New York in 1876 and died in 1956. He was a traveller and a collector of amulets, with interests in archaeology and medieval artefacts. According to an obituary in the journal 'Folklore', he recorded in his meticulous notebooks, dating from 1902, information gleaned from dealers as well as literary references and his own opinions. He was a generous benefactor to the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Folklore Society, of which he was a council member from 1909 and president for a period after the Second World War. An incomplete collection of off prints of his articles was presented by him to the Folklore Society's library in 1950 and listed in the journal 'Folklore' of that year. Dr Hildburgh donated a number of items to the Horniman Museum.
