Warrior; China, Ming dynasty, 1368-1644.

Warrior; China, Ming dynasty, 1368-1644.
Carved stone.
Measurements: 55 x 38 x 31 cm.
Carved stone warrior belonging to the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), a period of artistic splendor and cultural reaffirmation in Chinese history. Despite the absence of the head, the preserved body allows us to clearly appreciate the formal solidity and detailing characteristic of the funerary and commemorative sculpture of the period. The figure, dressed in richly ornamented armor, conveys a sense of authority and restrained serenity, in keeping with the Confucian ideals of order and hierarchy that permeated official Ming art.
The meticulous carving of floral and geometric motifs on the attire reveals both the technical virtuosity of the craftsmen and the symbolic function of the work. These sculptures, often located in spiritual avenues or as part of imperial funerary complexes, fulfilled a protective role: they were conceived as guardians of the deceased and of the cosmic balance. Beyond their ritual function, they were also material manifestations of the political power and moral worldview of the dynasty, in which art served as a vehicle of legitimization and expression of imperial greatness.
The monumentality and sobriety of the gesture, together with decorative refinement, reflect the aesthetic synthesis that defined Ming sculpture: an art that sought to endure in stone, testimony to the continuity of order, memory and dynastic authority.