Lying to the east of the Tibetan Plateau and protected by mountains, Sichuan has often acted as an independent power base during the course of Chinese history. In 1986, excavations at Sanxingdui provided spectacular confirmation of the existence of a civilisation during the Shang dynasty (1766-1045BC) which was independent from that of the Central Plains. A rival polity of Shu had been mentioned in Shang oracle bones, and by the Warring States period (482-221BC), Shu was one of the seven most powerful states in China, remaining so until its annexation in the 4th c. BC by the Qin, who went on to unify the country under the First Emperor.
During the Eastern Han dynasty (206BC-9AD), weak central government control allowed local landlords to amass vast estates, build themselves fortified residences, and employ private armies. Sichuan came to be known during this period as "Tianfu zhi Guo" (Land of heavenly abundance). Its wealthy had themselves interred in great cave tombs lined by terracotta bricks or stone panels depicting everyday life and pageantry, mythological scenes, or historical anecdotes. These tombs were filled with vessels and figurines of painted terracotta representing all the things that the deceased would need in order to live in luxury in the afterlife. In contrast to the more limited repertoire in the North, here were figures of musicians, storytellers, cooks, tailors, farmers, builders, and guardsmen, each with the implements of their trade. Revelers cock their heads to listen or to clap, and players of board games gesticulate over their gaming pieces; all are shown smiling and full of joie de vivre in an inimitable style reminiscent of folk art, quite unlike the traditionally somber tone of Chinese tomb sculpture. Depiction of sex is taken in stride with carvings of rutting stags on "Money Tree stands", and relief’s of caressing lovers on stone tiles. Models of celestial mountains, fields, fishponds, and pigsties, houses, towers, and grain silos accompany representations of dogs, chickens, ducks, and horses, and occasionally, tortoises, tigers, and frogs, and even bears, all modeled with a sense of character and vitality unique in Chinese art. All these figurines were manufactured in moulds out of grey or red terracotta, or more rarely, a high-fired greyish-black clay. The object would then be covered in white stucco and painted with bright pigments. Unfortunately, the pigments employed appear less stable than those used in the North, so that Sichuan pieces with well-preserved color are very unusual, and the surface usually shows an encrusted brown/grey patina which can be very useful for authentication. Apart from painted terracotta, there are also lead-glaze pieces, green or, more uncommonly, amber in color, and Sichuan is justly famous for its monumental lead-glaze horses which can reach to over a meter in height. Extremely rare are stone figurines which have been discovered in official excavations whose subjects reflect the same preoccupations as their more common ceramic counterparts.
In their great variety, modeled with vigor, imagination, and vitality, Sichuan figures are a joy to behold and eminently collectible.