China, Han Dynasty, ca. 206 BCE to 220 CE. A beautiful, mold-made hollow terracotta tomb figure of a slumbering duck or goose. The figure is almost life-size, with wonderful, naturalistic details: closed eyes that look like the distinctive goose eyelids, folds of feathers at the neck, detailed feet, and cross-hatched, smaller feathers on the back. This is probably a form of the greylag goose (Anser anser), who we know was domesticated ca. 1360 BCE and was an important source of food. Size: 11.2" L x 6.5" W x 6.25" H (28.4 cm x 16.5 cm x 15.9 cm)

Even at this early date, ceramic production in China was nationwide and regulated by the government, leading to uniform standards and styles across a vast geographic area. The grey color of this vessel resulted from firing it in a smoke-infused kiln. The surface decoration was painted on afterwards using mineral pigments, and is not protected by glaze - it is amazing that it has survived for 2000 years!

Tomb figures like this one 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 other animals, musicians, athletes, structures… anything the deceased might need to recreate the world of the living. 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.



Provenance: Ex-private East Coast, USA Collection

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#120784

Front of base has a small, well-done repair that is almost invisible; otherwise the piece is intact, with nice remaining pigment over much of its surface.