Miniature Mingqi Zhaoyi

This miniature folding chair from Southern China is made out of glazed ceramic and was created as a “spirit object”, called a mingqi. Mingqi were buried in tombs and represented all of the things the decesased might need in the next life or in the transition to getting there: weapons, armor, body guards, horses, or even more mundane things like musical instruments, dishes, wine jars or furniture; like this folding throne chair. The form, glaze and oxidation is consistent with mingqi created during the Tang Dynasty (618BC-906BC)