An important and outstanding bronze male chimera, bixie, Han dynasty 漢 青銅辟邪 cast in a powerful striding stance, the right front leg stretched forward and the left hind leg extended, the thick paws slightly lifted off the ground exposing sharp claws, its head raised alertly and dominated by piercing eyes and furrowed brows, the ferocious horned beast portrayed with gaping jaws above a tuff of beard, the broad muscular body accentuated with elaborate scrollwork against a ground of swirls and hatching, flanked by feathery wings detailed with striations and terminating in a sinuous tail with feathery protrusions and tufts of fur, the back surmounted by a rectangular and a circular socket incised with concentric circles and triangles, the underside cast with male genitals l. 27 cm, h. 18 cm