Courtier figure; China, Tang Dynasty, 618-907... Lot 49

Courtier figure; China, Tang Dynasty, 618-907 BC. Polychrome terracotta Attached thermoluminescence issued by Oxford in 2000. It shows the loss of a finger. Measurements: 47 x 18 x 10 cm. Large round figure in terracotta, representing a courtier, which can be guessed from the clothes. The piece has engobes and cold-applied polychromy. Almost entirely lost, as is usual in this type of piece. It is a funerary-type sculpture, belonging to a rich trousseau. Historians consider the Tang dynasty to be a period of splendour in Chinese civilisation, equal or even superior to the Han period. Emerging from a period of despotism under the cruel Yang Di, it was established by Li Shimin who, out of filial piety, put his father on the throne before assuming the role of emperor himself and founding the Tang dynasty. Stimulated by contact with India and the Middle East via the Silk Road, the Tang empire experienced a creative boom in many fields. Buddhism, which had emerged in India at the time of Confucius, continued to flourish during this period and was adopted by the imperial family, becoming an essential part of traditional Chinese culture. The development of the printing press also extended the dissemination of written works, giving rise to the golden age of Chinese art and literature, and the great cultural opening up resulted in a fundamentally colourful, expressive and highly eclectic art, although it remained primarily for funerary use, with the artist remaining an anonymous craftsman. However, from this time onwards, high-fired ceramics, decorated with enamels, would come to be used as a status symbol, with typologies such as vessels for the table of the litterateur and all types of tableware. Terracotta, on the other hand, continued to be used for grave goods, although stoneware was also used from this time onwards, especially for the tombs of nobles and scholars.