Page 187 - Christies Fine Chinese Works of Art March 2016 New York

Beginning in the Sui dynasty (AD 581–618) and continuing
through the Tang, most ceramic sculptures, whether
glazed or cold-painted, were formed in white or of-white
earthenware (lots 1479, 1481, 1484, 1485, 1486, 1487). As this
collection demonstrates, female fgures ranked among the most
popular during the Tang dynasty, some representing musicians (lot
1479), others court ladies (lots 1486, 1487), and yet others royal fgures
(lot 1481). Tang sculptures, whether pottery sculptures or carved
stone images of the Buddha, are the most naturalistic of all Chinese
sculptures. Figures from the early Tang period are slender (lots
1479, 1481), and their hair is sometimes arranged in a squared bun
atop the head (lot 1479). Among the most extraordinary fgures
of all are those dating to the seventh century and representing
princesses (lot 1481); elegantly attired in generously sleeved
robes and stylishly upturned shoes, such fgures project grace
and confdence. From a technical point of view, they are more
complicated that earlier fgures, as their long sleeves are hollow,
at least at the front, and they incorporate open space between
arms and torso. By contrast, female fgures from the eighth
century, by which time the so-called sancai, or three-color,
glazes had soared to popularity, generally are more rotund
in proportion, their bodies plump, their faces full and round
(lots 1476, 1487). Female fgures from the Tang dynasty sport
a variety of hair styles, some simple (lots 1479, 1481, 1484),
some complex (lots 1486, 1487). Although their glazes impart
brilliant color to the robes of the sancai sculptures (lots 1486,
1487), as witnessed particularly by the exquisite sculpture of a
lady holding a goose-shaped ewer (lot 1486) , the hair and faces
of those fgures were left unglazed and were embellished after
fring with cold-painted pigments in order to make the fgures
appear as naturalistic as possible.

Late in the Tang dynasty—i.e., late eighth and ninth century—both
male and female fgures often became portly, the women’s hair
arranged in complex, boufant coifures (lot 1485). The women’s
long, high-waisted robes often cover their shoes; the men’s robes,
too, often reach to their boots but, in contrast to the women’s, are
“low waisted”. Figures of men and women at leisure made their
appearance during the Sui and Tang—apparently aristocrats out
hunting, playing polo, riding for pleasure, or just otherwise enjoying
themselves. Such activities were reserved for persons of wealth and
high status. Many late Tang ceramic sculptures were crafted in white
earthenware, but some, like the couple in this collection, were done in
buf earthenware.

Major changes in funerary customs after the Tang dynasty led to
a signifcant decrease in the use of pottery sculptures. After the
Tang dynasty, the Chinese, infuenced by Buddhist customs, began
to burn paper replicas of the goods they wished to ofer the spirit
of the deceased in the belief that the smoke from the burnt ofering
would convey to the next world the essence of the image burned, whether
a horse, guardian warrior, ox and chariot, or gold ingot. Thus, what had
been a major tradition for more than a thousand years suddenly became a
minor tradition after the fall of Tang, with a commensurate decrease in the
sculptures’ artistic vitality. The long period from the Han through the Tang
thus represents the “Golden Age” of the Chinese pottery sculpture tradition—
precisely the period to which the sculptures in this collection belong.

Robert D. Mowry 毛瑞

Alan J. Dworsky Curator of Chinese Art Emeritus,
Harvard Art Museums, and Senior Consultant, Christie’s

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