Lot 72
East Asia, China, Tang Dynasty, ca. 618 to 906 CE. A lovely pair of mold-made pottery guardian figures each shown standing atop straight legs and adorned in liberal remains of white, orange, gray, and red pigments. Both dressed in armor with defined cuirasses, short kilts, and prominent collars, the figures bend their arms at the elbows and hold their hands in fists at their waists. Each of their sizeable heads display a narrowed brow, beady eyes, a bulbous nose, high cheekbones, and fleshy lips bearing a slight smile. Red caps with white flap borders and exposed top knots crown their heads. Though nearly identical, the figures differ in posture as one turns their head to the left and the other to the right. Size of larger (figure looking to proper right): 3.7" W x 15.2" H (9.4 cm x 38.6 cm)
The Tang Dynasty was a golden age in China, when its control of oases along the Silk Road allowed both the export of Chinese goods and the import of people and ideas from places like India, Persia, and even further afield. The capital city, Changan (modern day Xian) had 2 million inhabitants, making it one of the largest cities in the world at the time, and there was a large class of literati and artisans supported by the government who lived there. This artisan class had the luxury to produce these beautiful figures. After a mold was used to form them into basic shapes, artists would then use scrapers and hand-modelling to give them their individuality.
This piece has been tested using thermoluminescence (TL) analysis and has been found to be ancient and of the period stated. A full printed and bound report is available to the buyer upon request.
Provenance: ex-Barakat Gallery, Beverly Hills, California, USA, acquired prior to 2000
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#170937
- Condition: Expected nicks, pitting, and abrasions to surfaces of both, all commensurate with age. Otherwise, intact and excellent with impressive remaining pigments and some earthen deposits and encrustations. TL holes to verso of head and base of larger and verso of head of other.
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