Page 215 - Christies Fine Chinese Works of Art March 2016 New York

1485
TWO LARGE PAINTED RED POTTERY COURT FIGURES
TANG DYNASTY (AD 618-907)
One is a benevolent court lady depicted standing with head slightly
turned and hands clasped within the full sleeves of her voluminous
robes that fall to the tops of her shoes and trail in a curve in back.
Her face is modeled with full cheeks and small features framed
by the projecting wings of her coiffure that is surmounted by an
asymmetrical topknot. The taller fgure is that of a man with haughty
expression, also shown standing with head turned and hands clasped
within the sleeves of his long, loose-ftting robes that are belted below Quest for Eternity - Ceramic Sculptures from the People’s Republic of China,
the waist. He wears a cloth ‘double bun’ hat. Both have extensive
white slip remaining, with traces of pink pigment on the face of the
female and black pigment on the male.
20 and 23º in. (51 and 59 cm.) high, lucite stand (2)
$30,000-50,000
PROVENANCE
Sotheby’s London, 10 December 1985, lot 85.
(reverse)
The fgure of the court lady, with her generous proportions, loose-ftting robe
and elaborate coifure, exemplifes the preferences at court that became
fashionable in the second half of the Tang dynasty. The reign of Emperor
Ming Huang seems to have heralded the growth in this popularity of a more
generous female form. This change in style has traditionally been attributed
to the infuence of the emperor’s adored concubine Yang Guifei, who was
reported to have had a rather voluptuous fgure.
The size, full shape of the face and treatment of the robes are similar to
those of two fgures, with elaborate but diferent coifures, illustrated in The
Los Angeles County Museum, 1987, pp. 138-39, nos. 83 and 84, which were
excavated in 1955 from tomb 131 at Gaolou Village, Xi’an, Shaanxi province.
Two other similar fgures of smaller size (14º and 18º in.) are illustrated by
E. Schloss in Ancient Chinese Ceramic Sculpture from Han Through T’ang, 2
vols., Stamford, Connecticut, 1977, vol. II, pls. 123 and 124, and in vol. I, p. 145,
fgs. 22 and 23, Schloss illustrates in line drawings the type of voluminous
robe worn by court ladies during this period, as well as the pose and the hair
styles. Also illustrated, pp. 152-54, are a variety of the elaborate hair styles
seen on the fgures of the court ladies, several of which, nos. 52, 64 and 67,
are similar to the coifure of the present fgure. Another similar fgure of
comparable height with the same coifure, and her hands held at the same
height but away from the body, is illustrated in Sekai Toji Zenshu, vol. 9,
Tokyo, 1955, p. 216, fg. 143.
The fgure of the man is similar in attire and pose to a fgure excavated from
a tomb dated to AD 744, in Xi’an, Shaanxi province, illustrated by Schloss
ibid., Ancient Chinese Ceramic Sculpture from Han Through T’ang, vol. I,
p. 124, fg. 7. The face of this fgure has the more usual somewhat bland
features found on most of the male fgures of this type, unlike the scowling,
rather haughty expression of the present fgure, and that of an oficial
also illustrated p. 124, fg. 8. See, also, the fgure of similar type and size
illustrated in The Tsui Museum of Art; Ceramics I, 1993, pl. 109.
唐 彩繪陶立俑兩件
(2)
213