Female "Long Sleeve" Dancer, 2nd century BCE
Unknown artist, Chinaexpand_more
Earthenwareexpand_more
Gift of Ruth and Bruce Daytonexpand_more 2000.87.1
On View in Gallery 215expand_more
Many types of pottery dancing figures have been retrieved from Han tombs, but examples of this large size with finely sculpted naturalistic details, are relatively rare. The performance of ritual dance during Han was a court prerogative, and the number of dancers permitted to each noble was regulated according to his rank and merit.
This thin elegant dancer is dressed in the traditional shen yi garment; long and layered robes with oversized sleeves. She captures the stately motion and austere spirit of the "sleeve-tossing dance" style (chang xiu wu) which featured a continuous, controlled and coordinated movement of the long sleeves.
The Han dynasty writer Zhang Hong (78-139) described this dance form in one of his poems:
Their vermilion slippers danced between plates and goblets
And they waved their long, dangling sleeves
With a curvaceous, cultivated bearing
Their lovely dresses fluttered like flowers in the wind.
Details
- Title
- Female "Long Sleeve" Dancer
- Role
- Artist
- Accession Number
- 2000.87.1
- Curator Approved
This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.
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