Page 281 - 2020 Sept Important Chinese Art Sotheby's NYC Asia Week

9/2/2020 Important Chinese Art | Sotheby's

The glory of the Tang dynasty is characterized by its cosmopolitan openness to foreign trade and a rich flourishing of the arts. A
mutual exchange of religion, ideas and culture occurred concurrently with the abundant trade along the Silk Road. Within this
bustling environment, elite women had access to high levels of learning and the liberty to exercise political influence. The present
sculpture reflects this newfound confidence and aesthetic exchange. The figure is dressed in the fashionable Persian style of its
time, in a high-waisted gown with tight sleeves, loose, flowing skirt and décolleté. The curled shoes that show beneath the hem
also indicate the mobility of Tang women, a marked contrast to the practice of foot-binding from the Song dynasty until the fall of
the Qing Empire.

Amongst the celebrated sancai-decorated pottery figures, figures of women constitute a rare and notable group. The present
figure is exceedingly rare for the small animal present in the composition. Other examples of this type typically hold flowers or
birds. Compare the present figure with a figure in similar garments, seated on a rattan stool, and holding a foliate sprig in the
raised hand while clutching the sash end in the other, from the Bai Ma Xuan Collection and sold in these rooms, 21st September
2005, lot 18. A figure from the Hardy Collection, also seated in a dappled gown, holding a small bird in the raised hand, was sold at
Christie's New York, 21st September 1995, lot 77, and is now preserved in the Freer and Sackler Galleries of Art, Washington D.C.

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