Page 37 - Sotheby's Part II Collection of Sir Joeseph Hotung Collection CHINESE ART , Oct. 9, 2022

This powerfully modelled lion is a magnificent legacy of the high of large stone lions were also found at the entrance to the imperial
Tang era, remarkable for its naturalistic rendering and its poised yet Tang mausoleums, see Ann Paludan, The Chinese Spirit Road: The
fierce posture. Its muscles ripple beneath the skin, exemplifying the Classical Tradition of Stone Tomb Statuary, New Haven, 1991, col. pl.
beast’s vigorous and nimble nature; its ferociousness is immediately 11 and pl. 126.
grasped through the piercing eyes and the gaping mouth revealing
the animal’s teeth. This sensitive modelling marks an important The present piece, more compact than those created with the
stylistic shift from the highly stylised and primitive depictions of lions function of guarding the spirit road, displays equally powerful and
of the preceding Northern Qi (550-577) and Sui (581-618) dynasties naturalistic modelling that represents the height of Tang period
and displays the vitality and boldness of Tang sculptures. sculptural tradition. It is particularly rare and interesting to find
a beribboned bell strapped around the lion’s neck, reflecting a
The Tang dynasty saw an unprecedented blossoming of the arts, drastic change in perception of the relationship between nature
resulting from political and military stability and a general openness and man. In the preceding dynasties, animals were often depicted
to foreign trade. Lions were among the most prized tributary items in unrestrained stances or in prowling positions, intending to
presented to the Tang court by emissaries from the western regions illustrate their unbridled, untameable strength. However, in the
of India and Central Asia. After receiving a lion as tribute from Tang dynasty, this notion was replaced by an affirmation of man’s
Samarkand in 635, Emperor Taizong (598-649) is recorded to have dominion over the natural world; wild beasts no longer claim
commissioned a poem in its honour from the court poet Yu Shinan equality with man. As seen in the present piece, the commonly
(558-638). Lions were sent from Samarkand, Khotan and as far as the untamed beast is collared and depicted in a rather restrained sitting
Arabian Peninsula. position, symbolising its role to serve the will of man.

Tang carvers and artists strived to successfully display the animal’s For Tang sculptures of lions housed in important museums, see a
majestic savagery and bestial strength. A description of a lion similar white marble lion, displaying an equally fierce demeanour,
painting by the 8th-century painter Wei Wutian exemplifies this formerly in the collection of Dr Otto Burchard and now preserved in
trend: “When foreign countries presented lions to the court, he made the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (object no.: 46-85), illustrated in
paintings of them that were strikingly lifelike. Later, the lions would be the exhibition catalogue The Arts of the T’ang Dynasty, Los Angeles,
returned to their homes, and only their paintings were kept; even so, 1957, cat. no. 41; another example of smaller size from the collection
whenever the pictures were unrolled, any other animal that caught of Alice Boney, illustrated ibid., cat. no. 43. Compare also a limestone
sight of them would be terrified” (Alexander C. Soper, ‘T’ang Ch’ao example of smaller size, illustrated in Two Thousand Years of Chinese
Ming Hua Lu: Celebrated Painters of the T’ang Dynasty, by Chu Sculpture, J.J. Lally & Co., 2008, cat. no. 14.
Chung-hsuan of T’ang”, Artibus Asiae, XXI, 1958, p. 217).
Sculptures of lions were also executed in other materials; see a
No animal commanded greater respect and attention at the Tang puddingstone example, from the collection of C. T. Loo and now
court than the mighty lion. Ferocious and endowed with regal preserved in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (accession no. 24.74),
essence, the lion was revered for the powerful protective force it illustrated in Alan Priest, Chinese Sculpture in The Metropolitan
exudes, in addition to its role as a guardian figure and emblem of Museum of Art, New York, 1944, cat. no. 35, pl. LXXVI. For examples
power. They also have had strong associations with Buddhism; the sold at auction, see a large marble lion from the collection of Christian
dharma is said to be spread through the lion's roar and they were Humann and Robert Hatfield Ellsworth, sold at Christie’s New York,
frequently portrayed as the mount for the Manjushri Bodhisattva. 17th March 2015, lot 16; and a black stone lion from the collection of
With the growing popularity of the Buddhist religion during the Arthur M. Sackler, first sold at Christie's New York, 1st December
Tang dynasty (618-907), pairs of lion figures were increasingly 1994, lot 164 and again in these rooms, 1st April 2019, lot 3029.
placed in front of Buddhist temple gates as guardian animals. Pairs

72 I FOR COMPLETE CATALOGUING ༉းྡ፽ʫ࢙ሗᓭᚎ SOTHEBYS.COM/HK1292 THE PERSONAL COLLECTION OF THE LATE SIR JOSEPH HOTUNG I 73