TANG DYNASTY (AD 618-907)

Music and dance were highly popular at the Tang court, and the slender bodies and costume of these two dancers reflect the fashion for women during the early part of the Tang dynasty. They are very similar, including the coiffure, to two painted pottery dancers included in the Exhibition of Chinese Arts, C.T. Loo & Co., New York, 1 November 1941 - 30 April 1942, no. 431. See, also, the drawing of such a figure illustrated by E. Schloss, Ancient Ceramic Sculpture from Han Through T'ang, 2 vols., Stamford, Connecticut, vol. I, p. 140, no. 13. 1977.

The results of Oxford thermoluminescence test nos. 566b45 and 566b46 are consistent with the dating of this lot.