These three finely carved stone figurines, depicting female musicians dressed in flowing, high-waisted gowns and wearing flat-topped chignon headdresses, were unearthed from the tomb of General Zhang Sheng of the Sui Dynasty (581–618 A.D.) near the city of Anyang in China’s Honan province. The figure on the left is shown holding a pair of cymbals, while the musician on the right gently strums the strings of a traditional Chinese lute, or pipa. The elegantly poised woman behind them focuses intently on finding the correct note on her flute.
These three figures, each about 7 inches tall, were among a group of 13 figurines of musicians and dancers buried as offerings in the general’s tomb. Such musical ensembles were often composed of women of lower status in Chinese society and were regularly used for entertainment by elite and wealthy households of the Sui Dynasty. This set of stoneware musicians may have been buried with the general as a token of his status or as an eternal reminder of the pleasant joys of his earthly life. It is also possible that the ensemble was intended to convey the ritualized music and chanting of Buddhism, a religion that had become increasingly popular in China during the Sui Dynasty.
These three finely carved stone figurines, depicting female musicians dressed in flowing, high-waisted gowns and wearing flat-topped chignon headdresses, were unearthed from the tomb of General Zhang Sheng of the Sui Dynasty (581–618 A.D.) near the city of Anyang in China’s Honan province. The figure on the left is shown holding a pair of cymbals, while the musician on the right gently strums the strings of a traditional Chinese lute, or pipa. The elegantly poised woman behind them focuses intently on finding the correct note on her flute. These three figures, each about 7 inches tall, were among a […]
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