Tang Dynasty Glazed Soldier

£ 395.00

An Ancient Chinese Tang Dynasty hollow-moulded straw-glazed terracotta statuette of a soldier or court attendant. The figure is portrayed standing on an integral rectangular base, wearing a knee-length tunic belted around the hips. His right arm is raised to his chest, with a hole in the top of his hand for the holding of an incense stick, and his left arm is raised to his stomach. His hair is swept up into the military headdress typical in the Tang period. Facial and anatomical features are rendered in a sophisticated manner, with great attention given to the details.

 

Date: Circa 618-906 AD
Period: Tang Dynasty
Condition: Fine, top of the head and legs from below the knee restored, executed in white plaster, unglazed. Crack on the left side of the head due to firing, retouching to the glaze on the left side of the torso. There is a small hole in the plaster on the back of the restored legs. Extensive chipping to the base, minor chipping of the glaze over the whole and visible craquelure. Encrustations over the whole.
Product Code: CS-05
Category: Tags: ,

This statuette is an example of Tang Dynasty tomb figures of this time. Glazed earthenware figures, known in Chinese as mingqi, were placed in the burial chambers of the elite, in the belief that the figures represented would become available for the service of the deceased in the afterlife. The more diverse the processional figures were, the more powerful the individual buried with these figures was. Many of these tomb figures were lead-glazed sancai wares, meaning they were decorated in three colours of brown, green, and creamy off-white; however, this piece is straw-glazed. The Tang dynasty represents a golden age of achievement in Chinese history. Under Tang rule, China became the richest and most powerful empire in the world.

To discover more about Tang tomb figurines, please visit our relevant post: Chinese Tang Dynasty: Terracotta Tomb Attendants.

Dimensions H 22.5 cm
Pottery

Terracotta

Region

East Asia (Far East)

Glaze

Straw or Ash Glaze

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