Ancient Chinese, Tang Dynasty Terracotta Fat Lady figure. . 33 cm H.

Fat Lady Ancient Chinese, Tang Dynasty, 618 - 906 AD - nice details - MATERIAL: Terracota and pigments. DIMENSIONS: Height 33 cm. PROVENANCE: Private collection Paris, France, from the parisian art market collected since 1960. This man have a very big collection of chinese figures, arround 150 items. CONDITION: Very good condition, see photos. A beautifully hollow-moulded ‘Fat Lady’ figurine, featuring distinctive characteristics of an imperial court lady of the Tang Dynasty. She is posed in an elegant and relaxed stance. She stands on a flattened base, dressed in a richly decorated long robe that falls to her feet in heavy folds, which emphasises her graceful figure. Her elaborate hairstyle terminates in a chignon that is slightly divided into two halves and frames her face, with its delicate facial features and pink-painted cheeks. The elongated eyes, pointed nose, dimpled chin and crisply carved mouth painted in red are distinctive features marking the unique aesthetic taste of the Tang Dynasty. The ‘Fat Lady’ was a popular figure of the Tang Dynasty, a period which played host to enormous social, political and economic changes, and introduced a great deal of prosperity. The origins of depictions of ‘Fat Ladies’, with their full figures, elaborate loose robes and stylised hair, have been traced back to the imperial concubine Yang Gui Fei ( AD 719-756) , who was beleieved to be one of the four great beauties of the Tang Dynasty and the most favoured concubine of Xuanzong emperor ( AD 712-756) . Their chubby cheeks and full-bodied silhouettes characterise them as ‘Fat Ladies’ and their clothing and make up is designed to highlight these features, considered desirable at the time. ‘Fat Ladies’ have always been regarded as a precious and important source in studying the developments of women’s costume and aesthetic changes in different stages of the Tang Dynasty, and Chinese history in general, due to their potrayal of a beauty ideal unique to this period. Notes: - The piece includes authenticity certificate. - The piece includes Spanish Export License (Passport for European Union and outsite UE) . - The seller guarantees that he acquired this piece according to all national and international laws related to the ownership of cultural property. Provenance statement seen by Catawiki.