Four musicians

Unknown (Chinese)

Item type:

sculpture

Date of creation:

1st century

Technique / Medium:

grey glazed terracotta

Place of creation:

Henan (Zhongguo)

School:

Han Period

Description

A frequently illustrated subject in Han tombs is the banquet, enlivened by music and dancing, that invoked the feasts enjoyed during the deceased's lifetime and at the same time the funerary banquet. The four figurines represent three musicians playing the p'ai-hsiao, the ancient Chinese panpipe used in Confucian rituals, and a fourth person apparently listening. They are sitting on their heels and wear wide pants from which the shoes stick out. Except for the second one whose hair is knotted at the back of the neck, they all wear a square beret on the head.

Instruments [MIMO Code] (notes)

Paixiao [4022] (3 paixiao)

RIdIM images

Bibliographic references

Santarelli, Cristina. "The “Meidaozhai” Chinese art collection of the Giovanni Agnelli Foundation Turin", Music in Art 30/1-2 (2005) 239-243. RILM 2005-7128.

RIdIM record id

3081