Figurine of a Flute Player

Human sacrifices became increasingly uncommon during the late Zhou dynasty, and by the Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE) they were outlawed completely. This helped promote an industry in ceramic tomb figurines (ming qi), whose products acted as human effigies to accompany the deceased in the afterlife. Tomb sculptures like this were mass-produced from molds and finished by hand modeling. Musicians were common themes in upper-class burials during the first and second centuries in Sichuan province. Notable for its large size, this figurine of a female flute player wears a costume with full sleeves and a headdress trimmed with chrysanthemum flowers. She holds a vertical bamboo flute, an instrument that increased in popularity during the late Bronze Age and remained in use through the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing dynasties (1644-1912) when, along with the qin, it was valued by the literati class.