Page 32 - Chinese Art October 2017 San Francisco

5066

5067

PROPERTY FROM THE ESTATE OF A GENTLEMAN 5068
A PAINTED POTTERY FIGURE OF A FOREIGN MERCHANT
Tang dynasty
5066 Portrayed wearing a conical cap, his head modeled with strong
A CHESTNUT AND STRAW GLAZED BACTRIAN CAMEL features and a full beard, his body hunched over from the weight of his
Tang dynasty back pack and his left hand holding a wine jug, the surfaces showing
Molded standing at rest with its head turned slightly to the left and is traces of pigment (repaired); attached wood display stand
four legs attached to a low rectangular plinth, the surfaces unevenly 10in (25.5cm) height of figure
colored with golden brown and pale ivory glazes that drip onto the top
surface of the unglazed plinth (repaired). 11 7/8in (30cm) height including wood stand
22in (56cm) high
US$2,000 - 3,000
US$4,000 - 6,000
Foreign merchants from the Near East as well as Central Asia must
have been a sight along the silk roads, to judge from the number of
PROPERTY FROM VARIOUS OWNERS exotic faces that appear within Tang tomb sculpture. A similar example
to this lot, preserved in the collection of the Musée Guimet, Paris, is
5067 illustrated on the internet (MG18260). See also a discussion of a similar
A QINGBAI GLAZED PORCELAIN EWER WITH COVER figures as related to Semitic and Central Asian merchants discussed
Song dynasty by Ezekiel Schloss in Ancient Chinese Ceramic Sculpture from Han
The globular body with a curving spout and tall foot, a wide band of through Tang (Castle, Stamford, Ct., 1977), vol. 1, pp. 105-6 and
flowers and leaves carved below further flower petals that encircle a Figure 12 .
waisted neck rising within a cylindrical cover topped with an animal
finial and notched to fit over one section of the curving strap handle,
the lustrous and pale blue-green glaze covering most surfaces, the
recessed base unglazed and burnt a pale cinnamon hue with remains
of three russet spur marks .
8in (20.3cm) high

US$3,000 - 4,000

30 | BONHAMS