Antique Ming Earthenware Horseshoe Chair, China #3330BOK

Description

This miniature ceramic mold made horseshoe chair is an example of mingqi, a Chinese term for an object made or burial purposes. Literally translated as, “items for the next world” or “spiritual utensils” mingqi are miniature models of items used in everyday life to place in tombs of wealthy Chinese to provide the deceased soul’s comfort and happiness with abundant in their next life.  These might include miniature renderings of food drinks, tools, weapons, servants, animals, and a huge variety of other everyday items. This ceramic mingqi is a simplified but accurate miniature model of a Ming Dynasty horseshoe chair which would have been hardwood with a shaped top rail ending in a curved and decorative spiral. As many ceramic mingqi, this well-modeled chair has a liberally applied green glaze with expected drips around the stretchers. The seat is decorated with a yellow glaze to imitate  caning as is the decorative carved design on the splat, but the bottoms of the seat and legs are unglazed. The rail ends splay to the right and left for hand comfort and decorative effect are traditionally found in Ming Dynasty hardwood chairs. In very good condition with minor chips and paint losses, it was buried underground in a tomb for centuries. This piece pairs well with Ming Earthenware Horseshoe Chair 3331.

Sources

Albert E. Dean, “Chinese Beliefs in the After World” in The Quest for Eternity, Chronicle Books, San Francisco, 1987,

Jan-erik Nilsson, Mingqi-Items for the next world, gotheborg.com/glossary/mingqi.shtml