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Gracefully rendered, the elegant ladies wear loose gowns with long available and mangoes were imported from Southeast Asia. The
sleeves and sport elaborate coiffures which reflected the fashion of emperors hosted great feasts for the members of their household,
the time. which required several meal supervisors and cooks to manage
the delicacies that were sent as tributes to the Court. According
The plumpness of the body, conveyed by the full cheeks, dimpled to surviving literary records, in 644, 768 and 826 the Court served
chins and broad chests, is often found in pottery figures and thousands of officers as well as numerous court ladies and
tomb frescoes dating from the 8th century. These features may members of the imperial family.
well have been influenced by the full-figured concubines of the
Xuanzong emperor(r. 713-756). The sedentary lifestyle and the The size, facial features and the hairstyle of the present figures are
greater availability and variety of food delicacies, imported from similar to those displayed on a pottery figure, Tang dynasty, illustrated
neighbouring countries, must have prompted an increase in weight in the Los Angeles County Museum Exhibition, The Quest for Eternity.
among the high-ranking members of Tang society. ‘There is nothing Chinese Ceramic Sculptures from the People’s Republic of China, Los
that cannot be eaten’, declared a Tang general in the 8th century. Angeles, 1987, no.83, p.139.
Golden peaches from Samarkand graced the tables of the emperor
and his favourites; pistachios, imported from Persia, started to A similar pottery figure of a lady, Tang dynasty, was sold at Christie’s
be grown in Southeast China by the 9th century. High-quality New York, 19-20 September 2013, lot 1255; another similar example
pine seed and ginseng roots originating from Korea were also was sold at Sotheby’s London, 9 June 2004, lot 77.

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