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Lot Essay
It is very rare to find a ''fat lady'' figure in an expressive activity as seen on the present lot, where one of the ladies is very naturalistically modelled holding a hand-mirror and examining her appearance in it. These figures are mostly found in passive poses, occasionally holding an animal. The hair style of the lady admiring herself in the mirror is also quite elaborate. A court lady with a similar coiffure, called the 'side butterfly bun', is illustrated in Zhongguo Meishu Quanji: diaosu, Beijing, 1998, vol. 4, p. 146.
As with the other pottery court ladies of this type, the pair of plump figures here have long loose robes, exaggerated hair styles and elegant carriage, all of which reflect the fashion of the court during the middle of the 8th century. The 'ideal' woman was a definite departure from earlier standards. Two comparable court ladies, excavated with others in 1955 from tomb 131 at Gaolon Village, Xian, Shaanxi province, were included in the exhibition, The Quest for Eternity Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1987, illustrated in the Catalogue, nos. 83 and 84, where it is noted that contemporary literature attested ''to the imposing physical impression created by ladies of the flourishing Tang period''.
As with the other pottery court ladies of this type, the pair of plump figures here have long loose robes, exaggerated hair styles and elegant carriage, all of which reflect the fashion of the court during the middle of the 8th century. The 'ideal' woman was a definite departure from earlier standards. Two comparable court ladies, excavated with others in 1955 from tomb 131 at Gaolon Village, Xian, Shaanxi province, were included in the exhibition, The Quest for Eternity Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1987, illustrated in the Catalogue, nos. 83 and 84, where it is noted that contemporary literature attested ''to the imposing physical impression created by ladies of the flourishing Tang period''.