Oud-Chinees, Han-dynastie Terracotta A Rare Pair of Painted Pottery Chickens – 10 cm

A Rare Pair of Painted Pottery ChickensChina, Han dynasty (206 BC–AD 220)**Painted earthenware with original pigments; later bronze legs**Height: 10 cm; Width: 15 cm each**Finely modelled as a pair of standing chickens, each bird is depicted with a full rounded body, gently arched neck and slightly lowered head, the long fan-shaped tail carefully incised with parallel lines to suggest individual feathers.The bodies are naturalistically conceived yet highly stylised in the distinctive manner of Han dynasty funerary sculpture, with softly swelling breasts, compact proportions and restrained detailing. The surfaces retain attractive areas of **original earthy red, ochre, brown and grey pigment**, preserved in a remarkably untouched state.The two birds form a particularly harmonious pair, turning towards one another with a strong sense of animation and balance. Their slightly differing postures lend the group an appealing naturalism while preserving the formal symmetry characteristic of Han funerary ensembles.Original PolychromyParticularly noteworthy is the survival of the **original painted decoration**.The pigments have not been renewed or recoloured and display the expected soft, matte and uneven appearance resulting from approximately two millennia of burial. Traces of reddish-brown, ochre and grey colouring remain across the bodies, necks and tails, with burial accretions and areas of surface alteration... lees verder bij Catawiki