Ca. 202BC - 220AD.An earthenware bird figure standing on its bronze legs and its body is decorated with vivid polychromy. This bird 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. 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 accompany this lot. Size: L:120mm / W:180mm ; 310gProvenance: East Anglian private collection; formerly acquired in the early 1990s in Hong Kong.