Tall Chinese Han Dynasty Painted Pottery Female Attendant Figure

This tall and impressive pottery figure was made during the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC - AD 8). It is made from a dense grey pottery, the head made separately to the body. Both head and body have been "cold painted" in various coloured pigments, traces of which still remain. The figure represents a female attendant and she wears long flowing robes. The head has two small vertical slots where originally would have been some kind of adornment for the hair. At the front of the body are two circular holes where detachable hands would have been, most likely made out of wood and now long since rotted away and lost.

This is a tall example of its kind with a height of 66.5 cm (26 inches). It is in good overall condition. There is some loss of pigment and "calcified" burial soil adhering to the surface. There is no sign or restoration or repair although there is a crack emanating from the side where the front and back were luted together during manufacture (see close-up image).

This was purchased by us for our personal collection in the 1990s, over twenty-five years ago, and is the first time we have offered it for sale.

For reference, in our last image we show a very similar example from the fine Southeast Asian Ceramic Society book "Spirit of Han", an invaluable resource for anyone interested in Han Dynasty ceramics.

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