Artwork Page for Female Figure of a Court Entertainer Dancing (Head)

Details / Information for Female Figure of a Court Entertainer Dancing (Head)

Female Figure of a Court Entertainer Dancing (Head)

漢 彩繪陶樂舞俑

100s CE

China, Sichuan province, Eastern Han dynasty

(25–220 CE)
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Medium
Pottery with traces of color pigment
Measurements
60 cm (23 5/8 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Barbara S. Robinson and Family 2023.98.b
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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The dancer lifts her robe to reveal what appears to be a drum underneath her garment.

Description

During the Han era, tombs of the elite were provided with sculpted renditions of their earthly entourage, such as guardians or musicians, to signify their status in the afterlife. The female dancer with elaborate hairdo held by flower ornaments raises one arm holding her wide sleeve with one hand, while the other lifts her robe to reveal what appears to be a drum underneath her garment, her face smiling, all in a gesture of an entertainer.
A tan ceramic sculpture depicts the head of a figure with a rounded face and small ears. Faint reddish pigment coats the grainy surface. An open mouth curves into a smile beneath narrow slit eyes. On the head rests a tall, rounded headdress tilted to the left. A band wraps across the forehead, adorned with two three-dimensional flowers positioned above the ears. The sculpture is fragmented at the base of the neck.

Female Figure of a Court Entertainer Dancing (Head)

100s CE

China, Sichuan province, Eastern Han dynasty (25–220 CE)

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