Does anyone know who this woman could be? And from which period? It could be just a random woman from ancient times, but does it hold any value at all? What do you think?
Red-Coat
Gold Member
From the ‘seductive’ pose and absence of any ‘goddess’ iconography, I would think it’s part of a set of “Four Beauties” figurines. This kind of thing (although this set is modern):
The four ladies are based on historical and semi-historical Chinese courtiers from different time periods (hundreds of years apart) who all caught the attention of the Emperor of their time: Xi Shi, Wang Zhaojun, Diaochan, and Yang Guifei. Later Chinese folklore grouped them together as the beautiful ladies that impacted on China’s history via the influence they had on the Emperors who took them as consorts.
Wang Zhaojun is often depicted with a musical instrument; Xi Shi with clasped hands; Diaochan in a brazen pose and sometimes a state of undress; Yang Guifei with one hand behind her head and sometimes carrying a basket of flowers. So, I think it’s the latter. She was said to have “a face that puts all flowers to shame”.
It’s crudely cast and I can see some patination in the garment folds so it could be quite old, but it’s covered in surface marks which suggest someone has given it a good going over with a wire brush attached to a Black & Decker to shine it up. I would not think it valuable, and the absence of any period marks is not a good sign.
The four ladies are based on historical and semi-historical Chinese courtiers from different time periods (hundreds of years apart) who all caught the attention of the Emperor of their time: Xi Shi, Wang Zhaojun, Diaochan, and Yang Guifei. Later Chinese folklore grouped them together as the beautiful ladies that impacted on China’s history via the influence they had on the Emperors who took them as consorts.
Wang Zhaojun is often depicted with a musical instrument; Xi Shi with clasped hands; Diaochan in a brazen pose and sometimes a state of undress; Yang Guifei with one hand behind her head and sometimes carrying a basket of flowers. So, I think it’s the latter. She was said to have “a face that puts all flowers to shame”.
It’s crudely cast and I can see some patination in the garment folds so it could be quite old, but it’s covered in surface marks which suggest someone has given it a good going over with a wire brush attached to a Black & Decker to shine it up. I would not think it valuable, and the absence of any period marks is not a good sign.
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GoldieLocks
Bronze Member
Gold painted plaster molded tourist piece.I doubt it would have much monetary value.
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There is an interesting story about Yang Guifei （杨贵妃）and the famous poet Li Bai 李白. Li Bai was summoned by the tang dynasty (唐代) Emperor Xuanzong (唐玄宗) to the Imperial Garden where the Emperor and Yang Guifei were admiring the peonies. Li Bai, who was intoxicated at the time, was told by the Emperor to write poetry celebrating the beauty of both the flowers and Yang Guifei. Li Bai in the end wrote three poems about her.
The Emperor was pleased with the work and ordered it to be set to music which he played on his flute accompanied by the singing of the court singing girls.
Here is the first of the three poems translated into english
*清平调
*［唐］李白
云想衣裳花想容，
春风拂槛露华浓。
若非群玉山头见，
会向瑶台月下逢。
To the Tune Purity and Peace
by Li Bai
In her cloud-like dress she’s like a flower wet by dew
Glittering by the rail that the spring wind blows through.
If in the mountain of immortals she’s not seen
She must appear at the moon-lit feast of Fairy Queen.
In the image you can see a man taking off Li Bai's shoes because Li Bai was too drunk to do it himself. According to history that man is Gao Li Shi 高力士 a cavalry general who was insulted by the task. Therefore he spread a rumor that Li Bai wrote the poem to dishonor and insult Yang Guifei. This rumor lead to Li Bai having to leave his dream of "given high status" by the Emperor.
The Emperor was pleased with the work and ordered it to be set to music which he played on his flute accompanied by the singing of the court singing girls.
Here is the first of the three poems translated into english
*清平调
*［唐］李白
云想衣裳花想容，
春风拂槛露华浓。
若非群玉山头见，
会向瑶台月下逢。
To the Tune Purity and Peace
by Li Bai
In her cloud-like dress she’s like a flower wet by dew
Glittering by the rail that the spring wind blows through.
If in the mountain of immortals she’s not seen
She must appear at the moon-lit feast of Fairy Queen.
In the image you can see a man taking off Li Bai's shoes because Li Bai was too drunk to do it himself. According to history that man is Gao Li Shi 高力士 a cavalry general who was insulted by the task. Therefore he spread a rumor that Li Bai wrote the poem to dishonor and insult Yang Guifei. This rumor lead to Li Bai having to leave his dream of "given high status" by the Emperor.
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