Group of 5 terracotta entertainers, Tang Dynasty (618 - 907)

H. 16 to 21.5 cm (6 1/4" to 9")

A rare and amusing group of foreign (probably Armenian) male entertainers. Each face showing different expressions. A male singer with one arm raised up accompanied by 4 musicians playing different instruments.
Pottery figures of this form where made with with great attention to realistic details to fulfill their basic role of providing entertainment and comfort to the owner in his after-life.

Oxford Thermoluminescence Test available

ref.#4193

Literature:
Pottery figures of musicians excavated from the tomb of Bishi Shinang outside Xi'an, Shaanxi province, datable to around AD 738 were included in the exhibition "Les Tresors de la Dynasty Tang". Galeries Lafayette, Paris. 1993. cat.no.16
A pottery orchestra of 6 men , similarly depicted is illustrated in: Regina Krahl, Collection Julius Eberhardt, Early Chinese Art, Hong Kong 1999 pl.125