A SMALL WHITE GLAZED DINGYAO FIGURE OF A SEATED GIRL HOLDING A DOLLHEAD, NORTHERN SONG DYNASTY

拍品描述

A SMALL WHITE GLAZED DINGYAO FIGURE OF A SEATED GIRL HOLDING A DOLLHEAD, NORTHERN SONG DYNASTY China, Hebei Province, 960-1127. Delicately potted, the girl dressed in loose-fitting robes with finely detailed folds, secured at the waist with a sash. She holds the head of a doll in her left hand, while her right hand pulls on a braid attached to it. The cherubic face of the young girl bearing a charming expression, marked by diminutive eyes, a flat nose, and full lips, flanked by prominent ears, and topped by a distinctive headdress. Dimensions: Height 7.2 cm Several ceramic figures of a mother, a child or a mother with child, produced during the Song, Jin and Yuan periods, display evidence of deliberate dismemberment of the head. Koos de Jong and other scholars have noted similar practices in Southeast Asia during earlier and contemporaneous periods, particularly in Burma and Thailand, where the ritual decapitation and burial of ceramic figurines depicting nursing mothers with children was likely intended to protect pregnant women and prevent miscarriage or stillbirth. It is purported that the Chinese specimens fulfilled a similar function. Literature comparison: Compare a related greenish white glazed porcelain figure of a standing woman holding a lotus leaf, China, Song dynasty, dated 960-1279, 6.1 cm high, in the British Museum, museum number 1911,1025.19.

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