Tang Dynasty Pottery Model of a Pig
A Small Tang Dynasty (618-907) Model of a Pig, North China, Perhaps from Henan Province. This red pottery model is depicts a pig standing on all fours, its head is stooped and the mouth is closed but tusks are clearly visible. The Mingqi is cold-painted in a charcoal black with the ears and mouth highlighted in a salmon pink.
SOLD
- Condition
- In very good condition.
- Size
- Length c.13 cm (5 inches).
- Provenance
- From a Private Collection of Early Chinese Miniatures.
- Stock number
- 26115
Photos
Information
Mingqi Pottery :
This piece is an example of Mingqi, objects made specifically for burial, to be taken with you to the afterlife. The `Terracotta Army` is the most famous example of this type of burial object. Mingqi objects represented people, houses, farms, granaries, livestock and indeed anything important from this world that would give you comfort and status in the next. The `Terracotta Army` were made life size and on a vast scale, reflecting the importance of the first emperor of China but most Mingqi objects were small models, far smaller than the object or indeed person they were meant to represent. Mingqi ceramics were not the only goods to appear in early Chinese tombs, objects that functioned were also buried, some of these had clearly been worn or even damaged, presumably these objects were prized possessions belonging to the deceased that might have been used on a daily basis.