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Lady with vessel on her head
Western Han dynasty (206 BCE–9 CE)
Clay with pigments
H. 22.3 cm
Excavated 1978 from Jinqueshan, Linyi Municipality
Collection of Linyi Municipal Museum
(cat. #27)

 

The lady stands slightly bent, with her hands discreetly tucked in the sleeves of her robe. On her head she balances a yellow water vessel whose base is the same size as the top of her head. Neither her face nor body are well articulated, but she has a pleasing demeanor with dark pupils to indicate her eyes, wide nose, and broad eyebrows drawn high on her forehead. Her small mouth is painted red-brown and echoes the shape of her nose. Her double chin contours the base of her chubby face. She wears a necklace of the same color as her lips. Her blue robe, the fronts lapped left over right across the chest, drapes over her ample form and hangs down to the floor with her black shoes peeking out from below the bottom hem. This is a rare example of a tomb figure carrying a water vessel in this manner.


 


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