Stock No: 16829

A set of three absolutely charming sancai-glazed terracotta figures dating to the Tang Dynasty (608-917). These musicians were likely left as grave goods for the deceased, known as mingqi, to provide entertainment in the after life.
The group would have been part of a larger retinue of entertainers, seeking to replicate the enjoyment the individual might have had as part of their courtly life. Made in a mould, they were hand-finished, giving each figure a unique expression.
Grave goods such as these, replaced the cruel practice of xunzang, which involved burying high status people with members of their court or household, often burying them alive. This practice was criticised by prominent Mohist and Confucian philosophers and seemed to have been entirely replaced by mingqi by the Tang Dynasty. The practice later re-emerged but was finally outlawed by 1673.

Chinese, Tang Dynasty (608-917)

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