Han Dynasty, Circa 202 BC – 220 AD An elegant and large grey earthenware Han Dynasty attendant. The figure has been designed with typical Han Dynasty features, she is in a mourning pose with her arms raised to her face, in a position of weeping. She is slender in form and has draping robes with elongated sleeves, her shoes just visible under the folds of the hem. The figure retains the original white slip, with additional decoration in red, umber, and black pigments to show the facial features and hair, which forms a long ponytail down below the shoulders. The Han Dynasty, which ruled between 202 BC-220 AD, brought great prosperity and stability to China, reigning over a golden age of classical Chinese civilization during which China saw major advances including the widespread development of a monetary economy and the invention of paper, as well as much progress in the decorative arts. To find out more about the Han Dynasty and its art production, see Milleker, Elizabeth J. (ed.) (2000). The Year One: Art of the Ancient World East and West. Exhibition catalogue. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. This piece has been precisely dated by means of a Thermo Luminescence analysis carried out by Oxford Authentication. The samples collected date the piece to the period reflected in its style, whilst also showing no modern trace elements. The TL certificate will accompany this lot. Size: L:610mm / W:230mm ; 7.8kg. Provenance: UK private collection; formerly acquired in the early 1990s in Hong Kong.