Figure of an official
Tang dynasty (618-907 AD)
Earthenware, slip, pigments

Tang horses and figurines are especially famous for their realism and vitality, even though they were semi mass-produced in large numbers, in separate moulds for body, head, legs and such, joined together and finished by an artist, which gives them that ineffable touch of handwork.

The figurines were often covered with a white slip, and painted with pigments after firing, as seen with this solemn gentleman, who has red-painted lips and green-tinted hat.