An Underestimated Important Discovery of 66 Years: The Tomb of Zhang Sheng from the Sui Dynasty in Anyang (Part 2)
2025-08-25
This collection focuses on the sculptural works unearthed from Zhang Sheng's tomb, primarily consisting of figurines, along with a small number of animal sculptures.
The figurines unearthed from Zhang Sheng's tomb are rich in variety, mainly including warrior figurines, attendant-official figurines, musician figurines, and white-glazed Hu figurines. There are two warrior figurines in total, each wearing a helmet with a forward-pointing horn, clad in gleaming armor (mingguang armor), with a leather belt at the waist and wide-legged trousers bound at the ankles. They are entirely coated in white glaze, with slightly bluish tones where the glaze is thicker, reflecting the origin of Sui dynasty white porcelain from celadon.
White-glazed warrior figurine
White-glazed warrior figurine
There are also two attendant-official figurines, each wearing a small cap, a round-collar robe with wide sleeves, and an outer breastplate armor (liangdang armor), with a belt at the waist and boots on the feet. Both hands hold a sword before a lotus-shaped pedestal. The entire body is coated in white glaze, with black pigment decorating the cap, hair, eyebrows, and eyes, creating a striking black-and-white contrast that highlights their artistic expressiveness.
White-glazed attendant-official figurine with black decoration
White-glazed attendant-official figurine with black decoration
There are two tomb-guarding beasts,with a total height of approximately 50–56 cm. They feature a human face on an animal body, with three tufts of flame-shaped mane and an upward-pointing halberd on the back. Their form follows the crouching style of tomb-guarding beasts from the Luoyang period of the Northern Wei dynasty, presenting a squatting posture with forelegs upright and hind legs bent on a rectangular base. The entire body is coated in white glaze, with black pigment accents on the top of the head, eyebrows, eyeballs, and foreleg joints, creating a striking contrast and showcasing a unique artistic style.
White-glazed human-faced tomb-guarding beast with black decoration
White-glazed tomb guardian beast with black-painted animal face
The ensemble of 13 musician figurines (8 musicians and 5 dancers) is vital material for studying Sui dynasty music. Standing 17–19 cm tall, they wear flat topknots, narrow-sleeved jackets, and high-waisted striped skirts in contrasting colors, holding instruments such as pipa, konghou, and panpipes, with focused expressions as they perform. Their garments once bore green, brown, red, and yellow pigments, providing key physical evidence for researching the seated ensemble music system of the Sui dynasty.
Painted pottery musician figurine playing the konghou
Painted pottery musician figurine playing the curved-neck pipa
Painted pottery musician figurine playing the straight-neck pipa
Painted pottery musician figurine playing the bili
Painted pottery musician figurine playing the transverse flute
Painted pottery musician figurine playing the panpipes
Painted pottery musician figurine holdingcymbalsmusician figurine
Painted pottery figurine of musicians clapping hands
Three painted pottery figurines of female dancers
Height: 22cm, 22.5cm, 22.5cm
Two painted pottery figurines of female dancers
In addition, white pottery figurines of monks and foreigners were also unearthed from the tomb, reflecting the characteristics of multicultural integration.
Pottery figurine of a monk
Pottery figurine of a monk
A pair of painted pottery figurines of foreigners
Painted pottery figurine holding a shovelMaidservant figurine
Painted potterystandingmaid figurine holding a dustpan
Painted pottery maid figurine holding a three-legged basinmaid figurine
Painted pottery maid figurine holding a pot
Painted pottery maid figurine holding a bottlemaid figurine
Painted pottery maid figurine holding an incense burner
Pair of painted pottery maid figurines holding candle trays
Painted pottery female attendant figurines holding candle trays, four pieces
Height 23cm, 23cm, 23cm, 22.5cm
Painted pottery female attendant figurines holding bottles, two pieces
Painted pottery female attendant figurine holding a cup
Painted pottery female attendant figurine holding a tray
Painted pottery maid figurine holding an object
Painted pottery maid figurine holding a cloth
Painted pottery maid figurine holding a basin
Painted pottery maid figurine holding an object
Painted pottery attendant figurine holding a cushion
Painted potteryHolding a cushionAttendant figurine
Painted potteryHolding a sheng and tiAttendant figurine
Painted pottery holdingHolding a shiAttendant figurine
Painted pottery female attendant figurine leaning on a table
Two painted pottery female attendant figurines
Height 22.5cm, 23cm, 22.8cm
Painted pottery female figurine with double buns
Painted pottery female figurine with double buns
Four painted pottery female figurines with double buns
H. 20.5, 20.5cm, 20.5cm, 20.4cm
Four painted pottery female figurines with double buns
H. 20.5, 20.5cm, 20.5cm, 20.9cm
Painted potteryMale figurine with a turban
Painted potteryMale figurine with a turban
Painted potteryMale figurine with a turban
Painted potteryThree male figurines with turbans
Painted potteryfour male figurines with headscarves
Height 26.5cm, 25.5cm, 26cm, 26.5cm
Painted potteryfour male figurines with headscarves
Height 25.5cm, 25.5cm, 26cm
Painted potteryfour male figurines with head wraps
White-glazed crouching beast with head raised
Height 13cm, length 11.5cm, width 11.5cm
White-glazed crouching beast with head lowered
H 13cm, L 11.5cm, W 11.5cm
White pottery sow with piglets
White pottery recumbent sheep
White pottery recumbent dog
Pair of white pottery male and female recumbent chickens
White pottery pair of ducks
