Tang dynasty figure
- Gallery: Room 33
- Culture: Tang dynasty
- Date: 728 (Date recorded for the death of general Liu Tingxun.)
- Object type: figure
- Materials: earthenware
- Museum number: 1936,1012.221
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
This is a Tang dynasty figure, crafted around the year 728. You're looking at a civil official, one of six tomb figures from a group originally placed in the tomb of a general named Liu Tingxun. The figure wears a distinctive head-dress, a clear sign of his rank.
Made from earthenware, this piece features a beautiful "sancai" glaze—green, brown, and with touches of other colors. This type of glaze was special, made using metal oxides that changed into striking shades while firing.
Tomb figures like these were meant to guard and honor the deceased, placed by the entrance to guide and protect them in the afterlife. These figures, along with others such as earth spirits and lokapalas, were carefully arranged to reflect the status and beliefs of the buried person.
This piece was part of a collection acquired from an important dealer, George Eumorfopoulos, and purchased by the museum in 1936.
See it in person
Tang dynasty figure is on display in Room 33 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and take a photo of it to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
New, in beta. British Museum support has just launched and is still improving: over 1,000 objects so far, with more added all the time.
