Pair of 18th Century Chinese Hand-Carved Temple Corbels with Characters

A pair of 18th century Chinese hand-carved temple corbels featuring stylized characters. Each corbel showcases a great wood openwork carving featuring a dynamic Chinese character, and, from the details of their clothes and weapons, they are likely celestial guardians. They are surrounded by nicely carved cloud scrolls. The corbels are mounted on a dark wood plinth.

Originally this pair of 18th century Chinese hand-carved temple corbels with characters probably protected the entry of a temple; today this pair could bring style and grace to any home or room, perhaps in a living room on a sideboard behind a couch or in an office on a bookshelf.