Mingqi, (Chinese: “bright utensils”) are funerary furniture or objects placed in Chinese tombs to provide the deceased with the same material environment enjoyed while living, thus assuring immortality. While mingqi were buried with the dead in virtually all historical periods, the custom was more popular in some periods than in others—for example, in the Han (206 bce–220 ce), Tang (618–907), and Ming (1368–1644) dynasties.
Mingqi are usually inexpensive, simply crafted clay models of that which is familiar in life—including guardians, servants, animals, and even architectural structures. A complete set of mingqi from a single tomb may amount to a model of an entire village, giving a comprehensive picture of the daily life of the period. (excerpted from here)
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Chinese Art, The Minor Arts - Gold, Silver, Bronze, Cloisonne, Cantonese Enamel, Lacquer, Furniture, WoodThe Art and Architecture of China: 3rd editionThe Hans Popper Collection of Oriental Art: A Selection of 131 Chinese Ancient Bronzes, Sculptures, Ceramics and Korean CeladonsMasterworks in wood: China and Japan [exhibition] Portland Art MuseumThe Tri-color Pottery of T'ang Dynasty The Colorful Art in the Middle Ages of ChinaAppeasing the Spirits: Sui and Tang Dynasty Tomb Sculpture from the Schloss CollectionA Guide to the Tomb and Shrine Art of the Han Dynasty 206 B.C.-A.D. 220Power and Virtue: The Horses in Chinese ArtThe Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology: Celebrated Discoveries from The People`s Republic of ChinaDawn of the Yellow Earth: Ancient Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang CollectionImperial China : The Art of the Horse in Chinese HistoryAncient Sichuan: Treasures from a Lost CivilizationChinese Jade from the Neolithic to the QingThe Formation of Chinese Civilization: An Archaeological PerspectiveProviding for the Afterlife: Brilliant Artifacts from ShandongChinese Ceramics and Stone SculptureThe Art of the Yellow Springs: Understanding Chinese TombsArt of the Yellow Springs Hardcover – January 15, 2010The Mingqi Pottery Buildings of Han Dynasty China: 206 BC - AD 220: Architectural Representations and Represented ArchitectureThe Archaeology of China: From The Late Paleolithic To The Early Bronze Age (Cambridge World Archaeology)The Search for Immortality: Tomb Treasures of Han ChinaExcavating the Afterlife: The Archaeology of Early Chinese Religion (Art History Publication Initiative Books)Monks in GlazeTomb Treasures: New Discoveries from China's Han DynastyAge of Empires: Art of the Qin and Han DynastiesLiangzhu Culture: Society, Belief, and Art in Neolithic ChinaKingly Splendor: Court Art and Materiality in Han China (Tang Center Series in Early China)Animal Classification in Central China: From the late Neolithic to the early Bronze Age (International)Hongshan Jade: The oldest, most imaginative jades full of mysterious beauty (Neolithic Jade)Painted Pottery Production and Social Complexity in Neolithic Northwest ChinaChinese pottery burial objects of the Sui and Tang dynasties. An exhibition with special reference to the scientific testing of pottery wares, and the works of the forger
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