A Chinese Tang Dynasty court attendant statuette moulded from terracotta. The figure wears a hooded robe garment with a belt around the waist and stands with one of his hands to his waist, behind which is a small, circular perforation which would have held an offering. His face is heavily pigmented in pink; his pupils are in black and the lips picked out in red.
 
Chinese Tang Dynasty: Circa 618-906 AD.
 
Condition: Complete and intact; condition, commensurate with age, with old wear and firing-inherent irregularities. Much of the original white slip remaining; a few light earthy accretions.
Height 24.4 cms 9.6 ins).
 
Such terracotta figures were made for the service and entertainment of the owner in the afterlife, ensuring that their journey in the underworld was a pleasant experience.