Large funerary statuette (mingqi) depicting a peasant, dressed in a long double-breasted jacket and wearing a flat hat. In his right hand, he is probably carrying a shovel; in his left, he is holding the hilt of a sword whose scabbard continues downwards with an offset caused by restoration with elements from another statuette of the same type. A knife is also attached to his belt. China, Sichuan. Late Eastern Han period (25-220 A.D.). Restoration. 85 cm. A comparable example in the Musée Guimet (MA 5877), cf. exhibition catalog Chine des origines, hommage à Lionel Jacob, éditions de la Réunion de musées nationaux, 1994, no. 68, pp. 168-169. Cf. also J. Rawson (ed.), Mysteries of ancient China, new discoveries from the early dynasties, The trustees of the British Museum, 1996, n°113, p. 210-211.

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