Pair of Chinese Ming Dynasty Tomb Funeral Pottery Chair Models

A pair of Chinese stoneware horseshoe cross chairs circa Ming dynasty (15th-17th century). The miniature models were traditionally made as burial offering objects. Pottery models of daily life necessities such as furniture, foods and wine bottles, even servants, musicians, and whole fleet of theater troops were placed with the deceased in the tomb for their afterlife. This practice became popular in Tang dynasty and persisted to the Ming Dynasty. The tomb stoneware tends to be relatively coarsely made and glazed in green and yellow, sometimes also blue colors. They are charming for their vernacular and realistic style and provide a snapshot window to the life of the contemporary society in terms of the furnishing, utensils as well as dresses etc.
The two chairs, hand-molded with a near identical size, are likely an original pair. Known as horseshoe back folding chairs (called Jiao Yi in Chinese), they have a distinct rounded back support that curve into the armrest. Likely originated in the nomadic Yuan dynasty. they were favored for their graceful form and easy transportability. The frames of these chairs were covered in green glaze and the unglazed seats were carved in check pattern, representing the original woven seats. The footstep on the front base support was glazed in ochre yellow.
Measurement shown on the listing is for a single chair.