Ming Dynasty Green Glazed Pottery Standing Screen

Ming Dynasty, c. 1550–1644 AD, China

A rare and evocative Ming Dynasty pottery model of a miniature standing table screen, crafted with remarkable attention to detail and intended as part of a tomb group. Rectangular in form and resting on bracketed feet, the screen is modeled to mimic wooden construction, its surface richly adorned with relief panels. The recessed panels are accentuated with a matte red pigment and bordered by impressed decorative motifs, while the majority of the piece is enveloped in a lustrous deep green glaze with subtle black undertones. The reverse remains unglazed.

In Ming and Qing households, screens were essential furnishings, used not only for privacy but also as windbreaks and contemplative ornaments within the scholar’s studio. Table screens—sometimes called spirit screens—embodied both utility and aesthetic refinement, their imagery and decoration designed to inspire reflection and harmony.

As a funerary object, this piece belongs to the category of mingqi (“spirit goods”), symbolic provisions placed in tombs to ensure the deceased’s comfort and status in the afterlife. From the Han Dynasty onward, lead-glazed and sancai wares evolved into the elegant monochrome glazes so characteristic of Ming burial art, with vivid greens especially esteemed. Mingqi assemblages could range from architectural models and domestic furnishings to attendants, animals, and entertainers—miniature worlds meant to accompany the departed beyond death.

This standing screen, with its rich glaze and finely worked relief decoration, is not only an exceptional example of Ming funerary ceramics but also a deeply evocative object, bridging the practical world of the scholar’s studio with the eternal domain of the afterlife.

Very good condition with minor old wear, some firing irregularities such as glaze crackling, glaze recesses, pitting, and expected scratches to the feet. Intact. Size approx. 19,2cm x 18,8cm x 7,9cm.

Provenance: British private collection.

References and further reading:

The Matter of Tang Tomb Figures; A New Perspective on a Group of Terracotta Animals and Riders, Lucien Van Valen & Isabelle Garachon, The Rijksmuseum Bulletin, Volume 62. pp. 218-239, 2014.

Dream of Ideal Life in Ancient China: Ceramic Miniatures of Architectures, Household Goods, People and Animals, Aichi.ken Toji Shiryokan, Seto, 2005, no. 14, p. 34.

Antecedents of Sui-Tang Burial Practices in Shaanxi, Mary Fong, Artibus Asiae 51, no:s. 3–4 (1991), pp. 147–98.

Mingqi - Items for the next world, Jan-Erik Nilsson, Gotheborg.com (https://gotheborg.com/glossary/mingqi.shtml)

Immortality of the Spirit: Chinese Funerary Art from the Han and Tang Dynasties Exhibition Catalogue, Jill J. Deupi, Ive Covaci & Leopold Swergold, Immortality of the Spirit - Ephemera. 1, Fairfield University, 2012. (https://digitalcommons.fairfield.edu/immortality_ephemera/1)

The Vibrant Role of Mingqi in Early Chinese Burials, Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, Heather Colburn Clydesdale, Independent Scholar, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, April 2009. (www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/mgqi/hd_mgqi.htm)