Han Dynasty Black Stick Figure

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Han Dynasty Black Stick Figure

About the Item

Western Han (206 B.C – 23 A.D) This Han pottery figure of a foot soldier is molded and engraved with facial and body details. It is fired in high temperature. The arms would have been made of wood but no longer exist and the clothes have rotted away leaving the figure naked revealing a true to life modeling approach with all the body parts, including the male genitals, sized in proportion to the real human physique. This unglazed pottery figure was made of grey clay and was part of a procession of soldiers found in Empress Dou’s tomb. Empress Dou (died in 135 B.C.) was the wife of Hen Wendi (202 -157 B.C.) and grandmother of Han Wudi (157 -87 B.C.) When Empress Dou’s son Han Jingdi died (141 B.C.), Empress Dou wanted to put her brother in the throne instead of her grandson, the crown prince Wudi, in order to strengthen the power of her family; hence starting a series of court intrigues between the Liu family and the Dou family. At the end, Wudi won and became the emperor. Although Empress Dou still held some power, she was no longer in the position to determine any policy. Empress Dou preferred the appeasement policy with the Mongolian and other non-Han tribes residing in Northern China, whereas Han Wudi preferred to use military strategy to drive the all these non-Han tribes away from the borders. Due to the opposition in their opinions, Empress Dou offended many in power, and after she passed away, some of her opposition decided to humiliate her by burning her tomb site. As a result, everything inside her tomb site became charcoal like this black pottery figure. The Chinese authorities pay great attention to everything from this tomb, and only allow a limited number of figures from this tomb to be sold in the market. Therefore this type of figure has become very collectable Figure is 23 inches tall. The base is 5.5w x 6d x 1h (inches).

Dimensions:
Height: 23 in (58.42 cm)Width: 5.5 in (13.97 cm)Depth: 6 in (15.24 cm)
Materials and Techniques:
Terracotta
Place of Origin:
China
Period:
15th Century and Earlier
Date of Manufacture:
Han Dynasty
Condition:
Repaired: Most terracotta have been repaired as many were found broken. Wear consistent with age and use.
Seller Location:
Santa Monica, CA
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU7830233109582