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View
other figure in the pair.
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Two standing
figures
Northern Wei dynasty (386–514), ca. 516
Terracotta with pigments
This figure: h. 8 7/8 in. (22.7 cm)
Excavated at Yongningsi, Luoyang, Henan Province, 1979–94
Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
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These terracotta figures, both flat on one side, were found during
excavation of the site between 1979 and 1994. They are thought
to have been attached to the inner walls of the pagoda and may
have been part of a retinue of worshipers and Buddhist deities.
The traditional Chinese approach to form in the plastic arts,
particularly in the representation of humans, concentrated on
intimations of life and movement, with summary treatment of details,
and emphasized a frontal view. These fully three-dimensional figures
are thus a radical departure, a change perhaps attributable to
the presence of large numbers of western craftsmen in Luoyang.
The move of many such craftsmen to the Eastern Wei–Northern
Qi realm helps to explain the strong western influence found in
sculptures and ceramics there. Foreign influence, probably from
maritime trade, is also found in South China, which preserved
artistic traditions and techniques from the Han dynasty that were
not in use in the north.
A Closer Look
These two figures wear heavy voluminous robes with folds that
swirl about their bodies, revealing the physical forms beneath.
This realism marks a dramatic change in Chinese sculpture and
is credited to the presence of Western craftsmen in the country
and to imports of Western images. In addition to the existence
of foreign goods in China, records of the period tell of the more
than 10,000 families from the West who lived in the capital of
Luoyang, where these sculptures were found. These foreigners also
built temples decorated in Western style. Exposure to these alien
influences led Chinese artists to alter their traditional
manner of depicting the human form, which reduced volume and contour
to a columnar silhouette. Chinese craftsmen traditionally focused
instead on the activity in which the individual was engaged and
the fluidity of the lines created by their attenuated form.
Notice
• The variety of patterns that are created
as the fabric swirls around the figures
• How the shoulders, back, and waist are all
skillfully and realistically described
Consider
• Compare the Han Female Dancer with these two figures and notice the different
ways their clothing, bodies, and movement are depicted.
• The heads of these terracotta figures were made independently
and now have become separated from the torsos. Sketch or describe
how these figures would have looked with heads.
Visit the Met
• The Met has a large limestone tablet, The
Emperor and His Court in Procession (35.146). This tablet
was carved only a few years before the terracotta figures and
was made for the entranceway of the Binyang Cave in the imperially
commissioned cave temple complex of Longmen near the capital
of Luoyang. Although it is carved in low relief, the treatment
of the sleeves and hems of some of the figures’ garments,
as well as the animation of their faces as they appear to converse
with each other, exhibit a similar sense of realism.
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