A rare painted pottery figure of a foreign dancer, Tang dynasty

Acquired in Hong Kong, by 1995.

The present work is closely related to several extant examples of Tang-dynasty pottery figures depicting foreigners from south or western Asia, all wearing the same dress and holding a similar pose. Although not visible in the current example, such figures are typically depicted with dark skin, and it has been suggested they depict ‘Kunlun’ boys, an ill-defined group of non-Chinese sometimes employed during the Tang dynasty as pearl divers. Compare the present figure with examples in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Victoria & Albert Museum, illustrated on the Museum’s websites (accession nos. 1981.470.1 and C.827-1936, respectively). See, also, an example formerly from the collection of Dr. S, Marsh Tenney sold at Christie’s New York, 12^th December 2018, lot 18.