Circa 202 BC-220 AD An earthenware Hen with colourful original polychromy. The bird standing on its original legs and is in a position of searching for seed. This hen is a mingqi, 'spirit goods' belonging to the burial rituals in the Chinese Han Dynasty. High-ranking persons were buried with various everyday objects; it was believed that life after death was a continuation of the present life, and therefore the deceased was provided with all the objects necessary to continue living after death. Thus, terracotta animals, such as these roosters and camels, horses and cattle were given, as well as food, clothing, and valuables. The tombs were designed architecturally so that, together with the objects, they provided both afortable final resting place as well as a safe journey for the deceased into the afterlife. Ancestor wor was very important, for the welfare of the deceased and for the welfare of the entire family. H.C. Clydesdale, ‘The Vibrant Role of Mingqi in Early Chinese Burials’, Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 2000. This piece has been precisely dated by means of a Thermo Luminescence analysis carried out by Ralf Kotalla, an independent German Laboratory. The samples collected date the piece to the period reflected in its style, whilst also showing no modern trace elements. The TL certificate with its full report will apany this lot. Size: L:140mm / W:195mm; 440g Provenance: UK private collection; formerly acquired in the early 1990s in Hong Kong.