6th century, China, Chinese, East Asia, gallery, primary source
This endearing character leapt out of his glass case to grab my attention the day we spent 4-5 hours cramming in as much as we could of the Art Institute of Chicago on a perhaps once-in-a-lifetime visit. It was the custom in ancient China to bury clay figurines in...
2nd millennium BCE, Egypt, Egyptian, gallery, primary source
The earliest reference I have found to a possible court jester concerns a dwarf at the Egyptian court in the 3rd millennium BCE. It appears that dwarfs and pygmies were respected in ancient Egypt, and there is even a dwarf god, Bes.  More to follow on this as I am...