Figure of Official

Art Historical Context

This petite *Figure of Official*, crafted from unglazed pottery, stands just under 5 inches tall and captures the poised demeanor of a Chinese bureaucrat from the Song dynasty (960–9), though its exact date remains uncertain. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Asian Department since 1930, this small sculpture exemplifies the everyday realism favored in Song-era ceramics, where artisans produced humble yet expressive tomb figures known as *mingqi*. These unglazed earthenware pieces, fired at lower temperatures without decorative slips or glazes, highlight the material's earthy authentic...