This iridescent green-glazed kneeling musician served as burial ware or ‘mingqi'. He wears a flat hat and a wrap-around robe. His head is tilted on one side and he appears to have an attitude of concentration during his performance.The practice of using lead-glazed burial wares had already started during the Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE) and it continued into the Ming period (1368-1644). The custom of burying objects with the deceased stems from the belief in life after death.
