**Originally Listed At $1000**

East Asia, China, Tang Dynasty, ca. 618 to 906 CE. A pretty pair of mold-formed pottery tomb figures known as mingqi, representing female court musicians. They stand at attention wearing pleated robes and holding their instruments at the ready, one with a paixo or panpipe and the other with a 2-stringed fiddle, known as an erhu that became popular during this era. Mingqi or mortuary wares were made to resemble people, animals, and structures then entombed with the deceased to accompany them in the afterlife and provided aid or entertainment, such as music, to recreate the life the deceased might have led (or wish they had). A harmonious and finely detailed example of figurative sculpture from the Tang Dynasty! Size (both about the same): 4.5" W x 15.3" H (11.4 cm x 38.9 cm)

Provenance: East Coast collection, New York Gallery, New York City, New York, USA; ex-Arte Primitivo, New York City, New York, USA, December 14, 2022, lot 573; ex-collection of Dr. Edmund Bourke, Yonkers, New York, USA, CH78 A & B., acquired in Guanjou, Mainland China, September, 2002

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#179468

Both have been professionally repaired with restoration over some break lines. Expected surface wear as shown, but otherwise very nice presentation and rich earthen encrustations and patina. Liberal remaining pigments.