Lot Essay
These two figures kneel with backs straight and looks of concentration on their faces. Their arms fall vertically from the shoulder but are bent at the elbow to bring the lower arm up at ninety degrees. The hands are folded around, and the thumbs are on top. In fact these two figures are in the classic pose of charioteers, like that seen in the bronze charioteer excavated from the tomb complex of the First Qin Emperor in Lintong County, Shaanxi province, illustrated in China Reconstructs, 1984, no. 4, p.35.
The size of these ceramic figures and the fact of their being charioteers suggest that they were made for a person of some substance, used to having their own chariots in their lifetime and therefore provided with them for use in the afterlife. By this time the earlier practice of burying real people and animals with their masters had been replaced by models, usually made of clay or wood.
When placed in the tomb the figures would have knelt at the front of a wooden chariot and would probably have held reins made of some other organic material. The wooden chariot and the reins made would have been unlikely to survive well in the tomb, but the charioteers, being made of earthernware, are in good condition. A significant amount of their original cold paint has remained in place, so it is possible to see the colour of their faces, their hair and the details of their layers of clothing.
The size of these ceramic figures and the fact of their being charioteers suggest that they were made for a person of some substance, used to having their own chariots in their lifetime and therefore provided with them for use in the afterlife. By this time the earlier practice of burying real people and animals with their masters had been replaced by models, usually made of clay or wood.
When placed in the tomb the figures would have knelt at the front of a wooden chariot and would probably have held reins made of some other organic material. The wooden chariot and the reins made would have been unlikely to survive well in the tomb, but the charioteers, being made of earthernware, are in good condition. A significant amount of their original cold paint has remained in place, so it is possible to see the colour of their faces, their hair and the details of their layers of clothing.