Ancient Chinese, Han dynasty Terracotta A FINE PAINTED POTTERY FIGURE OF A MALE ATTENDANT, TL TEST - 26 cm

A FINE PAINTED POTTERY FIGURE OF A MALE ATTENDANT


China, Han Dynasty (206 BC–AD 220)
Painted terracotta with pale engobe and surviving red, black and grey pigments

Height: 26 cm
Mounted on a custom-made iron display stand
Thermoluminescence tested by Archeolabs TL, France

A finely modelled pottery figure of a standing male attendant, mingqi, depicted in a formal frontal pose with the hands clasped before the body and concealed within the broad sleeves of his robe.
The figure is distinguished by its elegant, slender proportions and exceptionally attractive pale surface. The long robe falls almost continuously from the shoulders to the feet, gently widening towards the base, while the rounded sleeves create the characteristic full silhouette associated with Han funerary attendants of this type.
The face is delicately modelled with narrow almond-shaped eyes, sharply painted black eyebrows, a straight nose and a small mouth highlighted in red. The hair is painted dark and drawn back into a pronounced looped chignon at the nape of the neck.

Particularly noteworthy is the extensive survival of the original pale engobe, which gives the figure its striking ivory-white appearance. Traces of the original polychrome decoration remain clearly visible, including vivid red pigment around the collar, wrists and hands, as well as red and dark details to the shoes and facial features.
The robe preserves numerous areas of ancient surface wear, mineral deposits and burial-related staining. At the lower part of the garment, just above the feet, a distinct brownish horizontal area is visible. This may represent an old burial or moisture-related tide mark, together with naturally accumulated mineral staining from prolonged burial. I would describe this conservatively as burial staining and mineral accretions, rather than assigning a specific chemical cause without analysis.

The modelling, proportions, hairstyle and surviving painted decoration place the figure very closely within the well-known group of Han dynasty standing attendants represented in important museum and auction collections.

Thermoluminescence analysis
The figure was tested by Archeolabs TL, France, under report:
FH-06-06-01-41-TA
dated 14 February 2006.

“The results obtained from the two samples are homogeneous and indicate an ancient firing.”
The original Archeolabs TL documentation accompanies the figure.

Provenance
Private collection, France, by 2006 and subsequently.
The figure was documented and thermoluminescence tested in France in February 2006.

Comparative examples
The figure is closely related to groups of painted Han dynasty attendants sold at Christie’s New York, Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 29 March 2006.
Christie’s lot 242, A Group of Six Painted Pottery Figures of Attendants, Han Dynasty, comprised six figures measuring approximately 27.2–28.2 cm, with similarly elongated robes, clasped hands, delicate painted facial features and surviving coloured pigments.

Another closely related group, lot 244, consisted of six painted pottery attendants of approximately 25.6–26.3 cm, remarkably close in scale to the present figure.

Christie’s also referred to a comparable group of twenty-one male and female painted pottery figures published by Gisèle Croës, Ritual Objects and Chinese Buddhist Art, March 2004, pp. 84–91, no. 21.

A further relevant comparison is the Standing Male Attendant published in Robert D. Jacobsen, Celestial Horses & Long Sleeve Dancers: The David W. Dewey Collection of Ancient Chinese Tomb Sculpture, attributed to the Xianyang region, Shaanxi province, Western Han dynasty, 2nd–1st centuries BC.
The published example shares the same characteristic elongated body, rounded sleeves, clasped hands, dark painted hair and sensitively rendered facial features.

Condition
In very good condition considering its age, with extensive original surface and polychrome decoration preserved.

The figure appears substantially intact and no major structural break is apparent from the visible surfaces. Expected age-related wear, abrasions, surface cracking to the engobe, minor losses and burial accretions throughout.

There are areas of loss to the pale surface layer and surviving grey-black pigment, together with distinct ancient burial staining towards the lower robe. The red pigment to the collar, hands, lips and feet remains particularly attractive and contributes strongly to the visual character of the piece.
Mounted on a custom-made black iron stand. The figure is securely fixed to the stand; the mounting has not been disturbed in order to avoid unnecessary risk to the ancient terracotta.

An elegant and particularly attractive Han dynasty funerary attendant, notable for its unusually extensive pale engobe, vivid surviving red decoration, refined proportions and documented two-sample thermoluminescence analysis.

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