Ancient Chinese Terracotta Northern Wei Dyansty Court Official - 386 AD

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Ancient Chinese Terracotta Northern Wei Dyansty Court Official - 386 AD:
$850.00

An ancient Chinese terracotta figure of a court official, withbeautifully preserved pigmentation,dating to the Northern WeiDynasty, circa 386 - 534 A.D.

Thisrareancient Chinese figure of a court attendant draws inspiration from the style of contemporary Northern Wei Buddhist icons.The martial spirit typical of this cultureis absent, emphasizing the role of this individual as a civilian as opposed to military official.The stylised features reflect the contemporary tendencies of Buddhist art, withthe head bent forward in animitation of large-scale statuary and the mouth modeled with a gentle, serene smile. The figure is shown standing tall, dressed in thetraditional attire of an officialwith a wedge shaped cap.The left forearm has a depression where asimilar pottery arm would have been inserted in antiquity. Interestingly, the ancient artist decided that he/she wanted a more lifelke appearance thancould have been achievedwith a simple bivalve mold, instead choosing to hand model the arms and insert them separately.

The militaristicNorthern Wei Dynasty, whoconquered the small, weak northern Chinese states in the late 4th century ADwere clearly regarded as foreign barbarians by the more \'civilized\' south. Paradoxically,the innovative expressive style of the Chinese in the southern courts of the fourth and fifth century has been preserved best by the Wei themselves, whosought to emulate the artistic styles oftheir southern contemporaries.As such,this piece reflects one of the wonderfully ironic turns of ancienthistory.

A beautiful and dignified piece of ancient Chinese figurative art.

For an example of a similar piece, also from the Schloss Collection, please see: Lewis, C.J. 1990. Into the Afterlife: Han and Six DynastiesChinese TombSculpture From The Schloss Collection. p.101.

Height:81/2inches.

Condition: Good, right hand reattached and small hairlinecrack running along the front of the neck. Excellent widespread pigment preservation.

Provenance:

Ex collection of Mr. and Mrs. Ezekiel Schloss.

Ezekiel Schloss is one of the most famous names in ancient Chinese ming-chi (terracotta figure) art. Together with his wife Lillian, he was a prolific collector, well respected authority and author of the major publication \"Ancient Chinese ceramic sculpture from Han through T\'ang\". Schloss arrived in the US from Latvia in 1940. He was an accomplished cartoonist, working for many years at the New York times. The Schloss collection is rare in that it truly represents an educated collection of art; Schloss was immersed in Chinese ming-chi art and only collectedbeautiful examples of specific types, as well as the unusual, the charming and the rare.

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