This miniature seated figure with a drum between his legs is often described as a story teller, His drum was used as punctuation, and extra drum beats when he needed sound for drama. Artifacts excavated from Sichuan and dated to the Han Dynasty are diametrically different from those of Chang'an, present day Xian, the seat of the government of the Han Dynasty. In my mind, there appeared to be a sub culture in Sichuan, where the excavated objects represent a tableau of everyday life, from a village scene with musicians and dancers, story tellers and their audience, farm animals instead of caparisoned horses, warriors and attendants.
The story teller was likely to be made from a mold and finished by hand. Please note that It appeared to have been cleaned and the last owner left his notes in ink.
Date: Eastern Han Dynasty CE 207 BC to CE 220
Provenance: excavated from Sichuan
Dimension: 4 inches wide and 7.75 inches high