Figurine

CultureChinese

DateTang dynasty (618-906 C.E.)

MediumUnbaked clay

DimensionsOverall: 10 3/8 × 5 7/8 × 3 1/4 inches (26.35 × 14.92 × 8.26 cm)

Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust

Object number33-89/2

On View

Not on view

Collections

East Asian Art

Terms

DescriptionDancing female figure with a red sash at the waist, long striped sleeves, and a long skirt with black stripes.Provenance

Provenance

Probably with Wen Kuan Chai, Peiping (modern-day Beijing), China, by November 21, 1931 [1];

Probably purchased from Wen Kuan Chai, through Laurence Sickman, by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1933.

NOTES:

[1] In a letter to Langdon Warner dated November 21, 1931, Laurence Sickman wrote: "Enclosed are photographs of fine T'ang figures on the way. The two pairs of ladies will be sent to Mr. Nichols and he can take his pick and give the other pair to the museum. ...They are..really very sweet, their faces are charming." It is not definitively confirmed that Sickman was referring to this particular figure, but considering the date of the correspondence and Sickman's description, especially as considered in the context of other Han figures acquired around the same, it is likely this sculpture and its companion (33-89/2) are one of the pairs to which Sickman was referring. Harvard University Pusey Library, Langdon Warner Personal Archive, box 12, folder 21, copies in Nelson-Atkins curatorial file.

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