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

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

The figure represents a lady or court attendant standing, dressed in a long robe with a practically columnar fall. She keeps one arm descending along the body while the other flexes in front of the torso, a gesture habitual in representations of funerary attendants.

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

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

Construction

The photograph of the base is very useful: confirms a 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 indications to call it sancai: I would classify it as polychromed terracotta, not as a glazed piece.

State of conservation

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

Catawiki disclaimer: This object has been dated based on style by the seller . No further tests, such as, a TL test, C14 test, lapidary tests, analysis of pigments or radiography scans have been conducted to check the integrity of the piece.