But, Ms. Barnes cautions, "they like to be remembered, " which entails, among other things, honoring their effigies with offerings.

WSJ: Eastern Expansion | Yale University Art Gallery | Ruth Barnes | Cultural Conversation by Lee Lawrence

The effigies of actors placed in the tomb appear stiff and generic.

WSJ: Theater, Life, and the Afterlife | China Institute | A Dynasty Without the Hereafter? | By Lee Lawrence

Minna navigated the silk couches, the easy chairs and the grand piano, the statues of Greek goddesses peering through exotic palms, the bronze effigies of Cupid and Psyche, the imported rugs that swallowed footsteps.

NPR: Elevating the World's Oldest Profession in Chicago

The artist makes her versions from salvaged precious metals that are twisted, pounded and interlocked with found objects from the natural world, looking like mutant effigies pulled from the well-appointed rubble of a millionaire's junkyard.

WSJ: Kara Hamilton's Sculptures Are Whimsical Riffs on Faberg�� Eggs