Page 84 - 2020 September Fine Chinese Paintings and Works of Art, Bonham NYC

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A RARE LARGE GREEN AND STRAW-GLAZED POTTERY
MODEL OF A PAGODA
Liao dynasty, 10th -12th centuries This model of a pagoda offers a window into a fascinating point
Consisting of five sections, the first a green-glazed three level of transition in China’s architectural evolution. Derived from green-
foundation base, each tier and side with applied high relief decoration glazed earthenware models of multi-storied watchtowers lou that
of figures and floral motifs, the upper tiers with balustrade surrounds, were used as mingqi during the Han dynasty, this green and amber
with block brackets (dougong) that support the overhanging roofs, glazed model of a pagoda ta incorporates various features of the
the roofs themselves bearing floral motifs with figural decorations on earlier watchtowers. The walk around balconies, dougong bracket
the hip-ridges, the uppermost tier with a lotus form base supporting supports, and slender footprint are all characteristics derived from the
a globular stupa capped with a finial (cha), the structure covered with Han watchtower models from Northern China. However the presence
amber and green glazes. of the stupa, its lotus support, and the capping finial herald the arrival
45 3/10in (115cm) high of Buddhist culture and its impact on the visual culture of China.
Absent here are the archers and crossbows that populated the Han
$45,000 - 60,000 watchtower balconies, reminding us that although they share a similar
profile, the watchtower and pagoda functioned differently.
遼 三彩舍利塔
For more on this architectural evolution, see Guo Qinghua “From Tower
Provenance to Pagoda: Structural and Technological Transition” Construction
A Dutch private collection History, vol 20 (2004), pp. 3-19.
An English private collection, purchased in Hong Kong in the 1990s

來源
荷蘭私人收藏
英國私人收藏，約1990年購於香港

The result of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test
sample number C103x32 4 November 2003 is consistent with the
dating of this lot.

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