Figure of a Court Attendant
501-533
Scroll
Figure of a Court Attendant
501-533
Physical Qualities
Earthenware with unfired pigment over white slip, 15 x 3 1/2 x 3 1/8 in. (38.1 x 8.9 x 7.9 cm.)
Credit Line
Purchase with exchange funds from Frank J. and Elizabeth L. Goodnow Collection
Object Number
1990.121
The lacquered gauze “cage hat” on this figure was one of the main headdresses for both men and women of the 3rd through 6th century. Worn over a smaller cap, it was a high, round, flat-topped hat with ear flaps made of stiffened gauze. The figure’s slim body and graceful slouch reflect Buddhist statues of the time. This posture marks a shift away from the strong profiles and stiff gestures characteristic of Han dynasty (206 BCE--220 CE) clay sculpture. A tomb dateable to 525 near Luoyang, Henan Province, contained a group of more than 100 figures like this one.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by purchase, 1990; Sotheby's, New York (no. 15); C. C. Wang Family Collection, New York
Asian Reinstallation: Home, Temple, Tomb
Asian Gallery Rotations 2021
[Asian Refresh]
Asian Gallery Rotations 2022
Asian Gallery Rotations 2023
Asian Rotations 2024
Asian Rotations 2025
Ruth Spelman, "The Arts of China, A Retrospective," Greenvale, NY: C. W. Post Art Gallery, Long Island University, 1977, no. 63, p. 51.
Annette L. Juliano, "Bronze, Clay and Stone," Hong Kong, Hsi An Tang, 1988, no. 32.
Henry Trubner, "Royal Ontario Museum, The Far Eastern Collection," Toronto: ROM, 1968, no. 43, il.
Wenwu 1984:4, p. 4:4 (less graceful figure wearing similar gown and hat, stiffly slouched)
Zhou Xun, Gao Chunming, "5000 Years of Chinese Costumes," Shanghai: China Books and Periodicals, Inc., 1987, pp. 54-59, p. 69.
Wenwu 1984:4, p. 4:4 (less graceful figure wearing similar gown and hat, stiffly slouched)
Zhou Xun, Gao Chunming, "5000 Years of Chinese Costumes," Shanghai: China Books and Periodicals, Inc., 1987, pp. 54-59, p. 69.
On View at the BMA
