Provenance:
- Private Collection, The Netherlands - purchased V&V 1995
Condition Report available
€ 4,950
This object can be viewed in our gallery.
A pair of pottery figures of standing attendants. Both have their left arm folded in front of their body, the fist clenched – with a hole which may have held a wooden ceremonial staff or lance. They are dressed in long narrow-sleeved tunics, wrapped across the body and closed at the neck. It is worn over loose flowing trousers. On their heads they wear pointy hood with longer flap at the back. One is dressed in an orange tunic with white roundels, the other in a pale tunic with brown roundels. They both have expressive facial features with slightly bulging eyes and pronounced noses – one with a bushy moustache.
Their facial features indicate that these figures are not native to China, probably originating from countries to the West of China. Foreign servants feature prominently in Tang burials, especially in the guise of grooms, soldiers or attendants. They travelled over the trade routed, taking residency in China and worked as government emissaries, craftsmen, entertainers or shop owners.
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