Antique Standing Glazed Pottery Attendant Ming Dynasty

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This is a standing glazed pottery figure that was excavated from North China. When I was a graduate student at … Read more This is a standing glazed pottery figure that was excavated from North China. When I was a graduate student at the University of Chicago, I took a class in the material culture of the Ming Dynasty where I learned that the hat worn by a man defined what he did for a living. Although I am not sure who wore a red conical hat with a wide brim, I can attest to the fact that he was in service, for that type of hat was not worn by royalty, scholar official or a merchant. The seat of government in the Ming Dynasty was in Beijing in Hebei Province, North China. The burial customs were more formal and elaborate than in the south. Tomb figures such as this attendant were mostly found in Shanxi Province, adjacent to Hebei. The burial goods reflected the material wealth of the deceased, The most complete grouping that was in a visiting exhibition from the Shanghai Museum numbered more than 100 pieces that included the spirit chair carried by four attendants, beds, cabinets, chairs, tables, trunks, garniture sets, assorted foodstuffs including chicken, pig snout and fish.

This standing attendant male figure wore a front closing green robe secured at the waist with the a sash tied with a knot. On his head is a red hat. He stood in a formal pose on a hexagonal stand with his left hand across his chest. Through the years of burial, the green glazed has altered and part of it became iridescence.. The head is well carved and the facial features are defined. The face is coated with a white slip, the the wide brim hat in red. It was made separately from the body.

This figure was purchased in Hong Kong in the 1990's, way before the ban on importation of antique items into the US. See less