Page 219 - CHRISTIE'S Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art 09/14 - 15 / 17

PROPERTY FROM A DISTINGUISHED AMERICAN COLLECTION 1104

1104
A GREY POTTERY MODEL OF A PACK HORSE

NORTHERN WEI DYNASTY (AD 386-534)
The horse is well modeled standing foursquare on a
rectangular base and gazing straight ahead with ears pointed
in opposite directions, a bulging sack set over a saddle cloth
with fared ends is draped over the back, and the rump and
muzzle are applied with plain strap trappings.
7 in. (17.9 cm.) long

$2,000-3,000

PROVENANCE

The Aurelius Parenti Collection of Chinese Ceramic Sculpture;
Christie’s New York, 3 June 1988, lot 188.
Ralph M. Chait Galleries, New York.

Horses carrying heavy packs have been found in Northern
Wei tombs, such as a similar example from the tomb of Lady
Gao, dated 524, in Quyangxian, Hebei provinces. See Kaogu,
1972, no. 5., pl. IX, fg. 2. See also the example from Wuqiao,
Hebei, illustrated in Wenwu, 1984, no. 9, p. 25, fg. 7.

Compare, also, the pack horse in the Avery Brundage
Collection at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco,
included in the China Institute of America exhibition, Arts of
the Six Dynasties, Cat. no. 36; the example illustrated by E.
Schloss, Ancient Chinese Ceramic Sculpture, vol. II, pl. 44B;
and the example from the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene
Bernat, sold at Sotheby’s New York, 7 November 1980, lot 41.
北魏 灰陶馬

1105
A GREY POTTERY FIGURE OF A SEATED BOAR

NORTHERN WEI DYNASTY, EARLY 5TH CENTURY
The well-modeled animal is shown seated on its haunches
with slender front legs braced, with a narrow tapering snout,
visible fangs and pricked ears, its feshy body with distended
stomach touching the base, its small tail curled up on its fanks
and its spine with a bristled ridge. Traces of white slip, red
pigment and earth are visible on the body.
9Ω in. (24.2 cm.) long

$3,000-5,000

PROVENANCE

Christie’s New York, 10 December 1987, lot 122.
Ralph M. Chait Galleries, New York.

Compare, a grey pottery boar of this type, dated to Six
Dynasties, but shown standing, illustrated by H. Visser in
Asiatic Art in Private Collections of Holland and Belgium,
Amsterdam, 1948, pp. 52 and 218, pl. 69, no. 143.

The result of Oxford thermoluminescence test no. 466f46 is
consistent with the dating of this lot.
北魏 灰陶豬

1105

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