This creature appears to possess the body and legs of a rhinoceros (once indigenous to south China), the face and head of a tiger, and the scales and long, sinuous tail of a dragon. In spite of its fantastic nature, the animal's proportions, its pose and the way it distributes its weight all indicate an emphasis on naturalism, a quality stressed in the Han sculptural tradition.

Ceramic animals - horses, dogs, pigs, chickens and others - crafted of gray clay decorated with a clay slip are often uncovered in Han tombs. Human figure are also quite common, as well as more unusual specimens, such as this manticore-like creature. Perhaps their forms were inspired by stories of creatures inhabiting other lands carried by foreign traders, or interpreted from designs woven into textiles and rugs depicting exotic animals. Whatever their origins, these sculptures of fantastic animals interred in Han tombs may very well be the ancestors of the "earth spirit" figures found in Tang-era tombs.