Page 492 - The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology: Celebrated Discoveries from the People’s Republic of China

tend to be somewhat less freely sculpted than pieces that were meant to be painted. Such tech-
nical restrictions did not apply to painted pottery, so that it is in this material that the Tang
mingqi artisans were best able to explore the details of facial type, fabric design and decoration,
hairstyle, and the other accouterments that fascinated the Tang aristocracy.
The second tomb was discovered in 1988 during the building of a power station at Han-
8
senzhai, in the eastern suburb of Xi'an. While the tomb did not contain an epitaph with the
name of the occupant or the date of burial, comparisons of its contents with those of others
for which the identity of the occupant and date of burial are known have established that the
occupant was not an aristocrat but rather a wealthy merchant or landowner. Stylistic analysis
dates the tomb to around the second quarter of the eighth century CE — a decade or more
later than the Jinxiang tomb. 9

The Hansenzhai tomb contained a total of forty-three ceramic objects, including female
and male figurines, camels (with and without riders), and a pair of spirit guardians, as well as
bronze mirrors and a few wooden objects. The largest group comprised sixteen female figures,
which are said to have been found near the north wall of the tomb and on top of the coffin.
While these objects do not have the sancai glaze of those found in the highest-level Tang
burials, their impressive scale and relatively high quality are an indication of the wealth
attained by the affluent land-holding or merchant families of Xi'an during the seventh and
eighth centuries. Six of the female figures (cat. 173) are included in this exhibition. MK

1 Xi'an 1997,14 -19. 7 For example, see the Falconer on Horseback and Hunter
2 Xi'an 1997,14 -19. with Dog on Horseback from the tomb of Princess Yongtai
3 Bo, "Song of the Lute: Preface and Poem" in Watson 1984, in Xiangang 1993, nos. 84, 85, and the Horse and Two
251. Vessels from the same tomb reproduced in Shaanxi sheng
4 Xi'an 1997,18. Bowuguan 1990, nos. 67, 68, 70.
5 Xi'an 1997,15-18. 8 Wang 1992, 66 - 70.
6 Xi'an 1997,15-18. 9 Wang 1992, 70.

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