Lot 96
**First Time At Auction**
East Asia, China, Han Dynasty, ca. 206 BCE to 220 CE. An enticing ensemble of 7 pottery figures, 2 musicians and 5 dancers, all posed dynamically in mid-movement and draped in white and red robes with hair piled atop their heads. Both seated, the musicians play a zither and clap as the 5 dancers present a diversity of stances, some in stride, some raising a foot, and all flinging arms about dramatically. Pottery figures of entertainers, like these examples, often accompanied the deceased in the afterlife. Musicians, dancers, singers were part of a larger tableau of entertainers which participated in Han funerals as well as feasts. Sometimes figures of spectators would be included in the scene. These dancers are likely to be engaged in a dramatic rendition of the quipan dance, a dance of the time known as a "drum-stepping dance" where the performers must pivot on seven overturned bowls or drums, agilely leaping from one bowl to another. Size of largest (dancer with bun): 4" W x 6.1" H (10.2 cm x 15.5 cm)
Tomb attendants like these are part of a class of artifacts called mingqi - sometimes known as "spirit utensils" or "vessels for ghosts". They became popular in the Han Dynasty and would persist for several centuries. Alongside figures like this one were soldiers, athletes, animals, structures... Even though they were mass produced, mingqi of the Han Dynasty often show a high level of detail and naturalism. These were designed to assist the po, the part of the soul of the deceased that remained underground with the body while the hun, the other part of the soul, ascended. Caring for the po seems to have taken on a new level of meaning in the Han period, with more elaborate rituals and tomb construction arising.
A similar group of 2 musicians and a dancer can be found at the Metropolitan Museum of Art under accession numbers 1994.605.85ac.
Provenance: private Vero Beach, Florida, USA collection, acquired before 2003
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#177347
- Condition: A few have been professionally repaired and restored with areas of repainting, and all have expected nicks and abrasions, commensurate with age. Otherwise, all are very nice with great remaining pigments.
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