Tang dynasty (618-906)
Pair of tomb guardian figures
Late 500s &- early 600s
earthenware, 93 x 39 x 23 cm, 92 x 39 x 23 cm
Art Gallery of New South Wales Foundation Purchase 1990
This fearsome militaristic pair would have stood in two corners of a tomb chamber with civilian counterparts in the other two corners to guard against evil spirits. They are outstanding in their detail and sculptural quality. Originally they would have held weapons. The beasts they stand on are unusual: one appears to be an ox, the other a goat. |
Tomb sculpture
In the burial practices of Bronze Age China, it was usual for an extraordinary wealth of ritual objects, bronzes, jades, weapons, chariots, horses and even humans to be buried along with a deceased member of the ruling elite. As the Bronze Age faded, attitudes began to change and by the Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE) the custom of furnishing tombs instead with pottery facsimiles of the objects and people who served the deceased during life was firmly established. Ranging from buildings and animals to servants, attendants, soldiers, guardians, officials, entertainers and courtesans, these remarkable models provide us with a colourful and informative panorama of courtly life in ancient China.
The tomb sculpture tradition reached its zenith in the Tang dynasty (618-906 CE), when the use of lead glazes, often in combinations of three colours (sancai), further enriched these compelling imitations of earthly life. Additional detail, such as facial features and jewellery, was applied with colour pigments and occasionally gilding. In the history of Chinese art, in which realism is generally subservient to functional, ceremonial and symbolic imperatives, the realism of the tomb figure (mingqi) tradition is unique. So popular did the custom become that at various times in the Tang dynasty regulations were issued dictating the number and type of figures permitted according to the rank of the deceased. |
