ARCHAIC AND IMPERIAL CHINA
TANG COURT “FAT LADY”
TANG COURT “FAT LADY”
TANG DYNASTY (AD 618 - 906)
Object certified authentic and sold with an expert certificate. Satisfied or your money back.
Object :
Nº 658
Material :
Earthenware with pigment, Terracotta
Type Object :
Funerary ritual, Sculpture
Dimensions :
Height: 44 cm (17.3") – Width: 18 cm (7")
Lady of the court in moulded, fine clay terracotta covered in a light slip with polychrome traces. Her face has fine features and a serene countenance lost in a mass of rouged flesh and is framed by a coiffure in a high chignon called “half way back”. She is modelled standing with bulbous body swayed to the side, wearing a long loose robe. Her ample dress shows deeply incised folds; over it, she wears a tight-fitting bustier with a low neckline and short sleeves called banbi. Her arms are folded and the hands hidden by the long sleeves of the dress. Her long dress, flaring near the bottom, reveals pointed shoes with the tip curved up, very fashionable at court during the last quarter of the 7th century.
Very fine condition.
The emperor Xuanzong ( 712-756 AD) had as his favourite a buxom woman. At that time feminine images of this type started to multiply. The Tangs idealized voluptuous women, highlighting their well-developed curves. The dress adds to this aesthetic, most generous, it is of a Hufu type, of “barbarian” origins and coming from the western borders of the Silk Road.
MUSEOGRAPHY: a similar piece is on show at the National Palace Museum Taipei, Taiwan, gift from Mr Tsui Tsin – Tsong
Learn more :
» Matsuoka Museum of Art Tokyo » en.wikipedia.org » Curator’s eye » Adiposity being aesthetic under the Tang » Kimbell Art Museum
€ 14 600 - £ 12.01 - $ 15.22 - C$ 20.6
All purchases must be paid in Euro. Other currency prices for indication only