This is a Tang dynasty glazed terracotta Tang Sancai 唐三彩 tomb figurine of a dancing woman bought by Dorothy Moyle Needham in an antique shop on Monday 1 Oct. 1945 while visiting Xi'an 西安 with Joseph Needham. This was one of four figurines bought by Dorothy Needham, which the Chinese archaeologist Zheng Dekun 鄭德坤 authenticated (see relevant entries in the diaries of Joseph Needham and Dorothy Moyle Needham). Zheng Dekun kept one of the figurines for the museum. It portrays a young woman (shinü 仕女) performing a dance move with one hand over her head while wearing a dress painted in green. The colours are beginning to fade, becoming rather brownish where the original would be yellow. The base is hollow, and the hands of the dancer are missing.