Northern Qi Painted Pottery Tomb Ox TNQ200

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Northern Qi Painted Pottery Tomb Ox TNQ200

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Sold Date: 10/16/2006
Channel: Retail
Source: GoAntiques
Category: Ethnic, Folk & Native American Art

A rare, Northern Qi (AD530-577), painted pottery ox with brilliant original pigment. There is some expected degradation, chips & minor losses, abrasions, and possible restoration, as a consequence of extended burial and subsequent cleaning.
Comments: In Chinese Slavery Society about 4,000 to 2,500 years ago, living people were buried with the dead as sacrifices. As time went on, however, artificial tomb figures instead were produced and used to lie with the dead. According to Confucius, filial piety was a basic moral principle, and spiritual and material sacrifices to dead relatives or friends were traditional Chinese rituals. Tomb burial began to become popular in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770B.C.-221B.C.) and was most prevalent from the Han (206BD-AD220) to the Tang (AD618-906) dynasties. Tomb figures were made in imitation of various real life people, such as musicians, servants, acrobats, guards, and dancers. Beside these human figures were placed horses, camels and other animals, carriages, warriors, and in some cases entire replicas of a Chinese household, including living quarters, farm out-buildings, and so on. Most tomb figures were mold made in two sections joined together while the clay was wet and prior to firing. So, for example, the front and back of a musician were pressed into separate molds, the two pieces were then stuck together (creating a hollow space inside) with the seams smoothed over by the hand. Arms and legs projecting out from the body generally had to be molded by hand. Some of the figurines are glazed (in one, two or three colors), but most were painted after firing. During the Ming (AD1368-1644) dynasty, attitudes towards tomb wares began to change and many of those beliefs continue to this day. Instead of burying the deceased with permanent items to accompany them on their journey, paper replicas are frequently burnt as offerings during the burial service. This does not diminish the role of grave goods but reflects the evolving nature of religious practice. In their striking vitality and decorative brilliance, Chinese tomb sculptures stand unrivaled among the ceramic traditions of the ancient world.