Page 130 - Christie's July 9th 2020 Hong Kong Important Chinese Works of Art

THE PROPERTY OF A LADY
2872

A RARE PAIR OF SANCAI-GLAZED 唐 三彩蹲獅一對
POTTERY LIONS
TANG DYNASTY (618-907) 來源
英國私人收藏，於1980年代購於香港
Each lion is seated on a waisted rectangular plinth in an alert
posture, with its front legs braced below the strong muscular 此對蹲獅俑神韻凶猛威嚴，但尺寸較小，其樣式與大小於唐代三彩動物
chest, the face detailed with a fierce expression and bulging eyes, 俑中實屬罕見。另一件與之極為相似但尺寸更大的近似例（高 19.2 公
the mouth agape with its sharp fangs exposed. The mane is finely 分），則為徐氏藝術館舊藏一件三彩獅子，可參閱《徐氏藝術館：陶器
detailed with curling tresses and the body covered with a golden- （一）·新石器時代至遼代》，香港，1993 年，圖版 100 號。此外，
brown glaze highlighted with splashes of green and straw. 還另可比較一件藏於大英博物館的綠釉坐獅，其高 26.5 公分，同樣塑
The larger: 5 ¡ in. (13.7 cm.) high (2) 以結實有力的胸膛，載於《The World’s Great Collections – Oriental
Ceramics – The British Museum》，第 5 冊，倫敦、紐約、舊金山，
HK$200,000-300,000 US$26,000-39,000 1981 年，圖版 6 號。
PROVENANCE
An English private collection, acquired in Hong Kong in the
1980s
The powerful, muscular body and the ferocious expression of the
present pair of lions are hallmarks of Tang sculptural vitality and
naturalism. It is, however, very rare to find a pair of lions of such
small size. They are closely related to a crouching sancai lion which is
slightly larger in size (19.2 cm high), illustrated in The Tsui Museum of
Art – Chinese Ceramics I: Neolithic to Liao, Hong Kong, 1993, no. 100.
Compare also to another green-glazed seated lion (26.5 cm. high) with
an almost identical powerful depiction of the muscular chest, in the
collection of the British Museum, London and illustrated in The World’s
Great Collections – Oriental Ceramics, Vol. 5: The British Museum,
London, New York and San Francisco, 1981, no. 6.

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