A Chinese Han Dynasty hollow-moulded grey pottery figure of a musician playing a stringed instrument, a liuqin, with a pear-shaped body, often called the "Chinese mandolin". The figure is shown kneeling, dressed in the characteristic manner of the Western Han, with headdress and wearing a typical wrap-over outer robe.
Han Dynasty: Circa 202 BC-220 AD.
Condition: Complete; much of the original white slip with some orange pigmentation remaining the facial details picked out in black; a few light earthy accretions.
Height 18.5 cms (7.3 ins).
Provenance: Ex London gallery; previously in a 1990's UK West Country collection
NB: This item is available at a lower price if purchased as one of a pair (see last item in this update).
The Han dynasty was an age of great economic, technological, cultural, and social progress in China. Figures such as this were often placed in the tombs of the wealthy, usually depicting everyday objects and people, like dancers, court attendants, and servants. Mingqi figurines of dancers and musicians would have been placed in the tomb with the deceased to ensure company and entertainment.