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Ewer with dancing figures

ca. 9th century
Not on view
The curly hair of the dancer appliqued to the ewer suggests that this figure is not of Chinese ethnicity. He may represent a South or Southeast Asian individual, or even someone from Central Asia. Similar dancing figures, depicted on ceramics from north China, often represent Sogdians, a trading people based in present-day Uzbekistan, known for their whirling dances.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 唐 長沙窯舞人紋壶
  • Title: Ewer with dancing figures
  • Period: Tang dynasty (618–907)
  • Date: ca. 9th century
  • Culture: China
  • Medium: Stoneware with white slip, pigment, and applied decoration under straw glaze (Changsha ware)
  • Dimensions: H. 6 in. (15.2 cm)
  • Classification: Ceramics
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, 1986
  • Object Number: 1986.113
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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