TWO LARGE TERRACOTTA FIGURES Han Dynasty One figure modelled as a lady sitting before a low table holding a fish in one hand and a long blade in the other, her head raised, bearing a cheerful grin, the hair dressed with three large floral hairpins; the other a seated gentleman, dressed in long flowing robes with the left hand raised against the side of his head, areas of iridescent lead green glaze remaining. The largest 48cm (19in) high. (2). Footnotes: Please note this Lot is to be sold at No Reserve. 本拍品不設底價 漢 陶俑兩件 Provenance: Acquired in Hong Kong in 1995 (collector's notes) Published and Illustrated: M. White, People at the Whites' House: Ceramics from the Mary and Peter White Collection, vol.5, n.p, 2024, p.28 (the female musician); p.192 (the seated gentleman) The two clay figurines in the present lot represent a cook and a singer, likely from Sichuan province where opera singing and headdresses such as that worn by the cook were a common part of daily life and culture. These figurines (mingqi) would have been buried in tombs to assist and entertain the deceased in the afterlife, bringing eternal comfort in the form of good food and music and bearing big smiles to express their willingness to serve. See a similarly dressed female figure, Eastern Han, in the Shanghai Museum, object ID CI00004189, and in the San Francisco Asian Art Museum, Eastern Han, object number F2001.22.3. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing