This outstanding ceramic attendant was made
during what many consider to be China’s Golden
Age, the T’ang Dynasty. It was at this point that
China’s outstanding technological and aesthetic
achievements opened to external influences,
resulting in the introduction of numerous new
forms of self-expression, coupled with internal
innovation and considerable social freedom. The
T’ang dynasty also saw the birth of the printed
novel, significant musical and theatrical heritage
and many of China’s best-known painters and
artists.
The T’ang Dynasty took control in 618 AD, when
the Li family seized power from the last
crumbling remnants of the preceding Sui
Dynasty. This political and regal regime was
long-lived, and lasted for almost 300 years. The
imperial aspirations of the preceding periods and
early T’ang leaders led to unprecedented wealth,
resulting in considerable socioeconomic stability,
the development of trade networks and vast
urbanisation for China’s exploding population
(estimated at around 50 million people in the 8th
century AD). The T’ang rulers took cues from
earlier periods, maintaining many of their
administrative structures and systems intact.
Even when dynastic and governmental
institutions withdrew from management of the
empire towards the end of the period – their
authority undermined by localised rebellions and
regional governors known as jiedushi –the
systems were so well-established that they
continued to operate regardless.
The artworks created during this era are among
China’s greatest cultural achievements. It was
the
greatest age for Chinese poetry and painting,
and sculpture also developed (although there
was a notable decline in Buddhist sculptures
following repression of the faith by pro-Taoism
administrations later in the regime).
During the Tang Dynasty, restrictions were
placed on the number of objects that could be
included in tombs, an amount determined by an
individual's social rank. In spite of the
limitations, a striking variety of tomb furnishings
– known as mingqi – have been excavated. Entire
retinues of ceramic figures – representing
warriors, animals, entertainers, musicians,
guardians and every other necessary category of
assistant – were buried with the dead in order to
provide for the afterlife. Warriors (lokapala) were
put in place to defend the dead, while horses/
camels were provided for transport, and officials
to run his estate in the hereafter. Of all the
various types of mingqi, however, there are none
more elegant or charming than the sculptures of
sophisticated female courtiers, known – rather
unfairly – as “fat ladies”. These wonderfully
expressionistic sculptures represent the
idealized beauty of T’ang Dynasty China, while
also demonstrating sculptural mastery in
exaggerating characteristics for effect, and for
sheer elegance of execution.
The current sculpture is a perfect example of the
genre. She stands, draped from neck to foot in a
loose-fitting white dress and jacket (?), leaning
her weight back slightly on one foot, while
bringing the forefingers on her tiny hands
together as if in awkward enquiry. The dress is
rendered simply yet effectively, with creases
incised around the hem and the waist, and a
low-cut sash below the hips, and large, loose
sleeves. Her skin tone is pale – a traditional
measure of social elites, who did not expose
themselves to the sun's rays – which contrasts
strongly with her red lips, dark eyebrows and
small, enquiring eyes and retrousse nose. She is
undoubtedly well-nourished, another marker of
social class, and her rounded jawline and cheeks
run smoothly with the loose contours of her
body. Her hair is gathered up into an ornate fan-
like design with a tie, the bun carefully folded
and manoeuvred into four distinct lozenges; this
style, which is associated with aristocratic and
court circles, is known from written, sculptural
and painted sources. This piece offers a narrative
of courtly life over a thousand years ago, in
superbly delicate and carefully-rendered detail.
This is a stunning piece of ancient art and a
credit to any collection of Chinese masterpieces.
