Ancient Chinese wooden sculpture

Elegant wooden sculpture depicting an anthropomorphic figure, probably a courtesan.
This sculpture has been realized through an exceptional carving technique starting from a single piece of wood.
The piece dates back to the ancient reign of Chu (III – IV century BC), which was an hegemonic, Zhou dynasty era state. This kingdom, located in the current south – central China, is renowned mostly for its wooden sculptural tradition and for the skill of the artisans of this period in the carving technique for the creation of human and animal figures of very high quality.
Until this time, most Chinese spiritual figures were made in terracotta or stone.

Due to its antiquity, the wood has a fossilization process visible in the little cracks of the surface and in some wonderful color shades that give to this sculpture an exceptional beauty and charm.

Provenance: China.

Dim. (h): 6.88 inch. (17.5 cm).