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Lot 288A
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Greek Hellenistic Terracotta Head & Chinese Tang Mingqi - Two Pottery Fragments
Greek Hellenistic Terracotta Head & Chinese Tang Mingqi - Two Pottery Fragments
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Eastern Mediterranean, Greek, Hellenistic period, ca. 323 to 30 BCE; East Asia, China, Tang Dynasty, ca. 618 to 907 CE. A pair of ancient terracotta heads bridging two worlds and nearly a millennium. The first, a Hellenistic Greek female head mounted on a wooden plinth, retains the serene gravity of the Tanagra tradition: hair drawn in soft waves from a central part, almond eyes, a straight nose, and full lips modeled with quiet naturalism. Likely broken from a votive or decorative figurine, it carries the warm buff slip of Mediterranean clay. Its companion, a Chinese Tang Dynasty mingqi head, is more summarily worked, its surface weathered to a sandy patina, the features softened by burial. Such tomb figures (mingqi) were interred to attend the deceased in the afterlife. Together they offer an intimate study in how distant cultures shaped the human face in fired earth. Size of larger (Tang): 1.4" W x 1.8" H (3.6 cm W x 4.6 cm H).

The term mingqi ("spirit articles") denotes the molded earthenware figures, attendants, horses, camels, and guardians, mass-produced for Tang elite burials to furnish the tomb with a retinue for eternity. Hellenistic terracottas of this type descend from the Tanagra figurines of Boeotia, small draped women and divinities that spread across the Greek world after the late fourth century BCE as votive offerings and domestic ornaments.

Provenance: private Colorado, USA collection

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Item # 202959

  • Condition: Fair. Both are fragments from larger figures. Nicks, chips, and abrasions commensurate with age. Liberal remaining detail. Greek head is adhered to custom display stand.

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by Artemis Fine Arts
June 25, 2026 9:00 AM MDT
686 S. Taylor Avenue
Suite 108
Louisville, CO, US 80027

Artemis Fine Arts

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $299 $25
$300 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $199,999 $10,000
$200,000 + $20,000