Figure in a chair

This charming tiny ceramic shows a baby in a high chair or pen, its hands resting on a bar across the front. The back of the chair slopes upwards to a central point. A number of similar figures are known, principally of the Song period. Miniature moulded figures, mostly of horses or human figures, have been found at some Song period kiln sites. A figure of a horse has come from the kiln site at Baoteng in Henan province (Wenwu, 1989.11: 1-14, 59, pl. 3-5). The functions of such pieces are not known.

Entry taken from Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Collection 3 volume catalogue, edited by Steven Hooper (Yale University Press, 1997).