NiRen Zhang Plaque with Historical Hand Painted Clay Figurines

These wonderful figurines are made from Tianjin clay and painted by hand in the workshops of NiRen Zhang. They are nicely detailed and full of colour and placed on a rich red velvet background with a varnished wood surround. I was unable to discover who they actually depict however they are most probably historic figures and i suspect they are a mix of Emperors and philosophers.

They all have little paper bubbles above them with printed Chinese characters (Hanzi). Sadly i can not read Chinese. Maybe you do, let me know as i would love to know who they are. There is a strut on the back of the plaque so it can be easily placed on a shelf or table and come in a fabric covered box.