Tomb Figure
ClassificationsSculpture
Date206 BCE - 220 CE
Made AtChina, Asia
MediumCeramic and pigment
Dimensions17 × 6 3/4 × 4 in. (43.2 × 17.1 × 10.2 cm)
Credit LineAnonymous Gift
Object number99.76.160
DescriptionPottery figures were placed in tombs from the Han to the Ming dynasty (206 BCE-1644 CE) to accompany the spirit of the deceased in the afterlife. This ceramic tomb figure is made of clay and painted black, red, and white and he is dressed in lamellar armour which in real life would have been made of lacquered leather plates. He would also have held a weapon; a spear, sword, or shield, which is now missing.Sculptures such as this male warrior are important for tracing the development of armour in China. An army of nearly 2,000 of these figures, some exactly like this one with others mounted on horses, were found in one tomb at Yangiawan near Xi'an.
On View
On view
206 BCE - 220 CE
618-906 CE
618-906 CE
1644-1911
206 BCE - 220 CE
20th Century
20th Century
475 BCE - 9 CE
206 BCE - 9 CE
25-220 CE