Ancient Chinese, Tang Dynasty Terracotta Court lady / funerary assistant in polychrome terracotta, mingqi - 21 cm

Female funerary figure / attendant lady (mingqi)
China, probably early Tang dynasty, 7th century AD, with possible Sui antecedent
Molded and hollow terracotta, with engobe and cold-painted polychromy.

The figure represents a court lady or attendant standing, dressed in a long, nearly columnar-draped gown. She keeps one arm hanging down along the body while the other is bent in front of the torso, a gesture common in representations of funerary attendants.

The most characteristic element is the elaborate high hairstyle, made with several overlapping volumes and originally painted black. This type of coiffure, together with the slender, elongated figure, fits particularly well with female representations from the late Sui and early Tang, especially the 7th century. Christie’s notes precisely that early Tang female figures retain slender bodies before, during the 8th century, the ideal of female beauty becomes much more voluminous, characteristic of high Tang.

The surface retains a considerable amount of decoration: black pigment in the hair, remnants of white engobe on the face and neck, red/orange on the gown and greenish tones on the upper part and sleeves. A Tang example of 27.6 cm catalogued by Christie’s preserves a comparable range of orange-red, black, blue and turquoise pigments and also features TL compatible with Tang dating.

Construction

The base photograph is very useful: it confirms a hollow hollow terracotta structure, a feature of numerous mingqi. The irregularity of the opening and the internal texture of the paste are evident.

I do not see sufficient photographic evidence to call it sancai: I would categorize it as polychromed terracotta, not as a glazed piece.

Condition

Here one must be quite precise in auction description. It shows wear and significant losses of polychromy, deposits, abrasions and small erosions. A line/crack around the neck joint is also visible, which could correspond to an old fracture and subsequent reintegration or repair; it would be advisable to examine it physically before stating that the head has been reinserted.

Catawiki disclaimer: This object has been dated based on style by the seller. No further tests, such as TL testing, C14 testing, lapidary tests, pigment analysis or radiographic scans have been conducted to verify the integrity of the piece.