Standing Foot Soldier
Mid-2nd century BCE
Physical Qualities
Earthenware with unfired pigments over white slip, 18 3/8 x 6 1/4 x 4 1/8 in. (46.7 x 15.9 x 10.5 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of George and Julianne Alderman, Baltimore
Object Number
2000.337
Warfare was nearly continuous throughout the Western Han dynasty
(206 bce–9 ce). Western Han armies were based on the model of
infantries accompanied by chariots and cavalry, which had been used
by the earlier Qin dynasty (221–206 bce). Following the example of the
First Qin Emperor, members of the Western Han elite were accompanied
in death by armies of sculpted soldiers, which not only indicated
the earthly status of the deceased, but also ensured the tombs’ ongoing
protection. The sculpted armies of the Western Han were smaller
in number and size than those of the earlier Qin dynasty. They were
also less detailed.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by gift, 2000; George and Julianne Alderman, Baltimore; Michael Teller, Williamsburg, Virginia (acquired after 1990)
Frances Klapthor, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Chinese Mortuary Ceramics from the Collection," December 2008-December 2009.
