Cultural relics card:

The poem line “jade shatters on the Kunlun Mountains, and phoenixes shriek” describes the ethereal sound of konghou, while “pearls large and small cascade on a plate of jade” describes the melodious sound of the pipa. Inspired by the painted pottery figurines of seated female musicians from the collections at the Henan Museum, we launched blind boxes designed in eight styles. The Henan Museum is the first institution in the country to offer such “archaeological music and dance blind box” souvenirs. 

These eight seated female musicians are similar in modeling and costume, all with a flat topknot on the head, a comb inserted behind the head, a full-length skirt and over-clothes with long waistbands. These figurines are of different postures and are all seated, vividly playing music. Except for two of them whose instruments were lost, the other six figures are playing the paixiao, pipa, bili, bo, dizi and konghou, respectively, as if performing at a small concert.

The discovery of these pottery figurines indicates that there had already been ceremonial music and dance shows with sitting musicians in the Tang dynasty.  

The designer’s words:

The poem line “jade shatters on the Kunlun Mountains, and phoenixes shriek” describes the ethereal sound of konghou, while “pearls large and small cascade on a plate of jade” describes the melodious sound of the pipa. Inspired by the painted pottery figurines of seated female musicians from the collections at the Henan Museum, we launched blind boxes designed in eight styles. The Henan Museum is the first institution in the country to offer such “archaeological music and dance blind box” souvenirs.

The set vividly shows the facial expressions of a group of female musicians. While maintaining an elegant temperament, they look playful and animated. Each of the eight figurines has different facial expressions to show their different characters. We want to show that female musicians living more than 1,000 years ago are just like every girl around us today: beautiful and smart, with a unique personality. Through inheritance and innovation, they intend to express Chinese oriental beauty.