Page 8 - Classical Chinese Ceramics Vol 2 June 2016

PROPERTY FROM THE CHINHUATANG COLLECTION

3101

AN EXTREMELY RARE IRON-SPOT 南朝/初唐 青釉點褐彩獅子坐像
DECORATED CELADON FIGURE OF A
SEATED LION 來源
台灣德馨書屋珍藏，購於1991年
SOUTHERN DYNASTIES-EARLY TANG DYNASTY, 6TH-7TH 金華堂珍藏
CENTURY
獅蹲坐於方形臺座上，張口露齒，舌向外吐，兩耳後豎，鬃毛捲
The lion is seated on a rectangular plinth on its haunches, with front 曲，尾部上翹。臺座線刻蓮紋及簡化的捲草紋。胎質細膩，胎呈灰
legs braced below the strong muscular chest, the powerful head with 色，通體施青釉，加飾褐斑點彩。
bulging eyes, fangs exposed and ears pricked. Each side of the plinth
is incised with two stylised lotus blooms within rectangular borders 本件青釉點彩獅子應為孤例。可比者惟長沙咸嘉湖唐墓出土一件青
and the top of the plinth is further incised with floral scrolls. It is 釉點彩獅面鎮墓獸，現藏湖南省博物館，載於北京2008年出版《中
decorated overall with spots of underglaze iron-brown and covered 國出土瓷器全集》，卷13，184頁。館方定該件鎮墓獸的窯口為湖
with a crackle-suffused glaze of greyish-olive tone falling irregularly 南岳州窯，並指出「南朝時湘陰窯（岳州窯前身）開始出現釉下點
onto the base. 彩，而至隋唐時反而少見。」

8 Ω in. (21.6 cm.) high, box 同時期的獅子形象可比台灣私人藏家收藏的一件白瓷獅子坐像，載
於2012年臺北出版《清翫雅集廿周年慶收藏展：器物》，第8頁。
HK$1,500,000-2,600,000US$200,000-340,000 獅子在佛教中代表佛法的威力，常作為護法獸出現在佛教藝術中。
本件青釉點彩獅子造型與六朝佛教雕塑中的獅子十分相近，且坐於
PROVENANCE 蓮紋臺座上，當與佛教有關。
The Dexinshuwu Collection, Taiwan, acquired in 1991
此器經牛津熱釋光測年法檢測（測試編號PH 004/546），證實與
The present lion figure with iron-spot decoration appears to 本圖錄之定年符合。
be unique with no other examples published. A closely related
iron-spot decorated celadon guardian figure, found in Xianjiahu,
Changsha, now housed in the Hunan Museum, is illustrated in
Zhongguo chutu ciqi quanji (Complete Collection of Ceramic Art
Unearthed in China), Beijing, 2008, vol. 13, p. 184. The museum
attributes their guardian figure to the Yuezhou ware in Hunan
province and dates it to the Tang dynasty (618-907). However,
the museum also notes that the iron-spot decoration, first appeared
in the Southern Dynasties (420-589), was a decorative feature
rarely seen in the Sui/Tang period. Compare also a white-glazed
Buddhist lion that is related to the present lot in style in a private
collection in Taiwan, illustrated in Ching Wan Society Twentieth
Anniversary Exhibition: Works of Art, Taipei, 2012, p. 8.

The present example and the Ching Wan Society lion share
common features such as the long beard and upright tail. The
Hunan museum example has a distinctive horn, which indicates it
as a tomb guardian beast rather than a Buddhist lion as is the case
with the cited Taiwan example and the present lion. In Buddhism
the lion is revered as defender of the Law. The introduction of
Buddhism into China was the main influence for the lion motif to
become a popular image among bronze, stone and ceramic works
of art.

The result of Oxford Authentication thermoluminescence test no.
PH 004/546 is consistent with the dating of this lot.

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