early 700s
Limestone
Overall: 119 x 69 x 10 cm (46 7/8 x 27 3/16 x 3 15/16 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1975.63
The two sides of the stone were engraved during the Tang dynasty, but the court lady and archer were likely carved 50 years later.
This slab originally formed the "window" panel of a coffin encasement constructed to resemble a one-story house. The dwarfs bowing respectfully under the vertical lattice window, as well as the court lady and archer engraved on the reverse, reflect the style of contemporary figure painting. Complete structures with similar décor have been excavated from tombs in the Tang imperial cemetery near Xian in northwest China.
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