This framed artwork is a clay sculpture portait of Sun Shangxiang.  Hand cast and hand painted, the sculpture has the traditional Beijing opera costume and makeup. 

Sun Shangxiang, sister of Wu kingdom’s (229~280) ruler during the Three Kingdom period. His brother, the king, Sun Quan wanted to marry her to Shu Kingdom’s king, Liu Bei.  Sun Quan wanted to use her marriage as a bait to kill Liu Bei.  However, Sun Shangxiang fell in love with Liu after she saw him. Sun Quan’s trap did not work and Liu Bei left with Sun Shangxiang back to Shu Kingdom.

The dress she wears is one of the classic dresses in Beijing Opera. The dress is called “Mang Fu.” The dress comes in two colors, yellow and red; Yellow is for empresses and red is for queens.