Sorcier

Funeral ceremonies included an exorcism ritual. A kind of sorcerer performed a spectacular dance, brandishing a spear, made of wood here but now lost. The tomb thus purified of evil spirits and protected from future interference from them could then receive the body of the deceased. Figurines such as this one served to perpetuate the effect of the ritual and, through their prophylactic presence, prevent any malignant intrusion in the tomb. At the time of the Eastern Han and the Three Kingdoms (221-265), accompanying these ritual dancers there was also the figure of a frightening mythical creature with a spiked back.
The terracotta statuette, dipped in a light white slip, was once painted. Its colours now faded, it has taken on a geometrical look that appeals to the modern Western eye, but that differs considerably from its original appearance.