Object Description
An elegantly constructed Chinese Ming Dynasty mould-made terracotta miniature palanquin, featuring an everted flange roof, crowned by a pear-shaped ornament, intricately decorated, hatched screens to the sides and rear, and an open front fact with stepped seat. The piece is glazed in bright ochre and green, the traditional colours for glazing used in the sancai technique. The palanquin, which was used in ancient China as a type of transport by the aristocracy, would have been originally part of a larger composition, including musicians and court attendants. Terracotta miniatures of this type would have been made for funerary purposes, buried with the deceased in the belief that he or she would need such items in the afterlife.
Date: Circa 1368-1644 AD
Period: Ming Dynasty