Page 61 - Bonham's Asian Art London November 2015

148
A GREY EARTHENWARE FIGURE OF A MYTHICAL BEAST
Han to Western Jin
The unusual animal modelled with head lowered, the nostrils flaring
and eyes bulging beneath three sharp horns or tufts of mane
protruding from the neck, the back with a line of five crests along the
spine and the legs planted strongly with the right hind leg stretched out
behind, wood stand and Japanese fitted box. 40cm (15 3/4in) long (3).

£1,500 - 2,000 148
CNY15,000 - 19,000
HK$18,000 - 24,000

Provenance
Purchased on 10 September 1980 from Bluett & Sons ltd (receipt and
label on box)

Compare a similarly modelled beast illustrated by Liu Liangyu, A
Survey of Chinese Ceramics I. Early Wares: Prehistoric to Tenth
Century, Taipei, 1991, p.139, and another from the Meiyintang
Collection illustrated by R.Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the
Meiyintang Collection, Vol.III, London, 2006, no.1164. See a smaller
tri-horn pottery beast, Han Dynasty, sold in Christie’s New York, 4-5
October 2011, lot 355.

149
A GREEN-GLAZED POTTERY DOG
Han Dynasty
The engaging hound modelled with head raised and looking ahead
with bulging eyes and open mouth revealing two long teeth either
side of the tongue beneath the broad nose, the stout body standing
squarely on four slender legs, the tail curled around itself above
the strong haunches, the animal covered in a thin green glaze with
brownish-green patches, the belly hollow. 23cm (13in) long

£1,500 - 2,000
CNY15,000 - 19,000
HK$18,000 - 24,000
Provenance
Purchased on 24 July 1990 from T.Y. King & Sons Ltd., Hong Kong
(receipt)
A very similar green-glazed dog was illustrated by Liu Liangyu, A
Survey of Chinese Ceramics: Early Wares: Prehistoric to Tenth Century
(Taipei: Aries Gemini Publishing, 1991), p 125.

149

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