A SMALL WHITE GLAZED DINGYAO FIGURE OF A SEATED GIRL HOLDING A DOLLHEAD, NORTHERN SONG DYNASTY
Lot 82 - SING0925

China, Hebei Province, 960-1127. Delicately potted, the girl dressed in loose-fitting robes with finely detailed folds, secured at the waist with a sash. She holds the head of a doll in her left hand, while her right hand pulls on a braid attached to it. The cherubic face of the young girl bearing a charming expression, marked by diminutive eyes, a flat nose, and full lips, flanked by prominent ears, and topped by a distinctive headdress.

Provenance: Dong Yu Artesanato, Macao, 1998. Collection of Dr. Koos de Jong, acquired from the above. A Dutch art historian and collector, Dr. Koos de Jong has worked across several cultural institutions in the Netherlands from 1976, serving as the director of the European Ceramic Work Center in Den Bosch between 1999-2009, before retiring in 2009. He has authored hundreds of articles and several books on Dutch fine and decorative arts from the Middle Ages to the modern era. His scholarly interests expanded to Chinese material culture, culminating in the 2013 publication of Dragon & Horse: Saddle Rugs and Other Horse Tack from China and Beyond, a pioneering study on Chinese equestrian gear. Continuing this line of inquiry, his more recent book published in 2021, Small China: Early Chinese Miniatures, explores the largely overlooked world of Chinese miniature objects, combining archaeological research with art historical insight.
Condition: Extensive wear, losses, extensive repairs with associated restorations, overall fair condition with typical firing irregularities including pitting, dark spots, and glaze recesses. Minor nicks, chips, encrustations, and adhesive residue.

Weight: 41.3 g
Dimensions: Height 7.2 cm

Several ceramic figures of a mother, a child or a mother with child, produced during the Song, Jin and Yuan periods, display evidence of deliberate dismemberment of the head. Koos de Jong and other scholars have noted similar practices in Southeast Asia during earlier and contemporaneous periods, particularly in Burma and Thailand, where the ritual decapitation and burial of ceramic figurines depicting nursing mothers with children was likely intended to protect pregnant women and prevent miscarriage or stillbirth. It is purported that the Chinese specimens fulfilled a similar function.

Literature comparison:
Compare a related greenish white glazed porcelain figure of a standing woman holding a lotus leaf, China, Song dynasty, dated 960-1279, 6.1 cm high, in the British Museum, museum number 1911,1025.19.