This unique set of painted pottery figures possibly represents individuals wearing ancestral ceremonial garb or divine figures associated with local religious cults. The figure dressed in a collar-less, long sleeved white tunic decorated with orange donut-shaped circles and matching hood shares iconographic features similar to that of the Heavenly Guardians--bulging eyes, tensed forehead, snub nose, grimace, and plump which give it a ferocious expression. The other figure wears a similar outfit of white circles on a black background, but instead of a tunic, she wears a three-quarter robe with voluminous sleeves that is tied beneath the breasts over a white pleated flowing undergarment. The rise of the hood is much higher and impressive, and her look is not one of dread, but of serenity and complacency. Both figures hold hands out in front with holes drilled in areas indicating that they once held objects. - (H.033)
Antiquities Ancient Asian
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