Ming Dynasty Green-Glazed Attendant

$246.42

A fine green-glazed Chinese Ming Dynasty earthenware figure. It has been styled in long, flowing robes, coloured a vivid green. Additional features have been accented in a deep amber yellow, highlighting the attendant’s sashes, hair tie, and clothing. The hair is tied into an elaborate top-knot and coloured a dull black. This, and the other areas left bare, would have been ‘cold-painted’ after firing, to contrast with the vivid fired green and amber pigments. Figures of this type would have been placed in the tomb of the deceased, to attend to him in the afterlife.

 

Date: Circa 1368–1644 AD
Period: Ming Dynasty
Condition: very good, with bright vivid glaze and additional cold-painted detailing still remaining. Repair to figure B, re-attachment of head.

SOLD

This figure would have been displayed amongst the processional group within a tomb, most likely before a sedan chair or palanquin and before the musician figures. It would have served a ceremonial purpose – to announce the arrival of the tomb occupant.

The Ming dynasty played host to some of China’s most renowned artistic achievements – famed, of course, for its vases, but also works such as Shen Zhou’s ‘Lofty Mount Lu’. The culture’s artistic explosion can be in part explained by the Ming dynasty’s economic success.

To discover more about Chinese terracotta statuettes, please visit our relevant blog post: Terracotta Tomb Attendants.

Weight 251.5 g
Dimensions W 5.6 x H 20 cm
Country

Culture

Region

Pottery and Porcelain

Glaze

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