Page 96 - March 23, 2022 Sotheby's NYC Fine Chinese Works of Art

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A LARGE AND IMPRESSIVE PAIR OF SANCAI- A similar pair, comparable in quality but of smaller dimension
GLAZED POTTERY FIGURES OF EARTH SPIRITS is in the British Museum, London, part of a group of thirteen
TANG DYNASTY figures reportedly from the tomb of Liu Tingxun (d. 728)
buried at Luoyang and illustrated in Jessica Rawson, The
(2) British Museum Book of Chinese Art, London, 1992, pl. 93.
Height of taller 45½ in., 115.6 cm Another superlative pair with the addition of cobalt blue glaze
is in the Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis (accession
PROVENANCE no. 49.1.10a,b). Compare also a related pair of sancai-
Offered at Sotheby’s New York, 19th September 2002, lot 41. glazed earth spirits from the collection of Frieda and Milton
Rosenthal sold in these rooms, 16th September 2008, lot 217.
This magnificent pair of mythical figures represent both
technically and aesthetically the peak of Chinese tomb The dating of this lot is consistent with the results of Oxford
figures produced during the Tang dynasty. Production and Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test nos C122a9
ownership of these rarified glazed figures were restricted and C122a10.
to north China, largely in the areas around the capital cities
of Luoyang and Chang’an. The prominent size, sensitive $ 80,000-120,000
modeling and deftly applied glaze which features resist-
techniques indicate that this pair was destined for the tomb 唐 三彩鎮墓獸一對
of high-ranking nobility or a member of the imperial family.
This flamboyant interpretation of these guardian figures,
which derives from Buddhist art in India, epitomizes the Tang 來源
elite’s admiration of exoticism during the height of its power 上拍於紐約蘇富比2002年9月19日，編號41
over Silk Road trade routes. Both the sophisticated glaze
techniques and extravagant figural forms virtually disappear 本拍品經牛津熱釋光檢測編號C122a9及C122a10，結
from 755 after the destructive forces of the An Lushan 果與其斷代相符
Rebellion.

188 SOTHEBY’S COMPLETE CATALOGUING AVAILABLE AT SOTHEBYS.COM/N10917 189