Page 506 - The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology: Celebrated Discoveries from the People’s Republic of China

over the intervening decades the elite of China
had become more sedentary and more interested
in interior pursuits. They had moved far from the
physically active, non-Chinese aspect of their heri-
tage and were becoming increasingly a class of
highly sophisticated dilettantes.
This group of six female figures, excavated in
1988, are of this later type. They are beautifully
sculpted, and their full faces, plump bodies, elabo-
rate coiffures, and heavy, loose-fitting gowns are
sensitively depicted. Their gowns cover the entire
body and sweep the ground, revealing only the tips
of elaborate shoes, with upturned ends, that could
have been practical only in an interior setting.
The figures are given individual identities through
a variety of hair styles, head positions, and subtle
facial expressions. The arms of five of the figures
are demurely crossed at the waist or chest; their
clasped hands are covered by long, loose sleeves.
While the garments are rather cursorily represented
— the flow of drapery is suggested by a few incised
lines <—traces of brightly colored pigment indicate
that the details were painted on; the actual gar-
ments they represent must have been wonderful
expanses of sumptuously decorated silk. The
women's soft bodies and the masses of hair piled on
top of their heads suggest that they were not accus-
tomed to physical activity. One figure — from ap-
pearances, a younger female servant or attendant —
stands apart from the other five. Her hair is tied in
a simple knot at the side of her head, and she wears
a tunic with tight sleeves over her dress; her hands
are exposed and positioned in front of her body in
a gesture of offering or receipt. MK

505 TANG P O T T E R Y F I G U R E S