Modelled standing on a tiered base; wearing a tall hat, a floor-length robe and boots; arms held in front of his body above a drum strapped to his waist; green and brown glaze. [No Reserve]

PROVENANCE:
Ex H.N. collection, Milton Keynes, UK, 1990s.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

FOOTNOTES:
China provides some of the earliest traces of music making. These are mainly in the form of well-preserved musical instruments, the tangible evidence of music. Over several millennia, musical instruments from regional indigenous traditions as well as from India and Central and West Asia were assimilated into the mainstream of Chinese music. Some of the most ancient instruments have been retained, transformed, or revived throughout the ages and many are in common use even today, testifying to a living legacy of a durable art. This legacy is frequently celebrated in the visual arts of China, documenting rituals and celebrations, or as status symbols of those whose lives were enhanced by the resonate sounds of instruments. Ancient Chinese people believed they would go to an afterlife when they died. So they placed miniature versions of things for everyday use in tombs for the deceased, such as these musicians, hoping that the dead could enjoy the next life like when they were alive. These grave objects gradually developed into funerary artworks and reflected the social standing of the deceased.