A yellow-glazed 'foreigner' whistle, Northern Qi dynasty | 北齊 黃釉胡人面塤

Northern Qi whistles of this type modelled to depict a foreigner are unusual although a similar example from the Meiyintang Collection is illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 3, pt. 2, London, 2006, no. 1365. See also whistles modelled as monster masks, such as one attributed to the Tang dynasty, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, published in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum. Ceramics, vol. 4, Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties, Beijing, 2013, pl. 126; another covered in a black glaze illustrated in Liu Zunyi, Yaozhou yao/ Yaozhou Kiln, Xi’an, 1992, p. 28 top right; and two sancai examples illustrated in Xie Mingliang, Zhongguo gudai qian youtao de shijie [The world of ancient Chinese lead-glazed wares], Taipei, 2014, pls 4.37 and 5.94. Compare further a celadon-glazed example sold in these rooms, 4th April 2017, lot 3225.

Similar depictions of foreigners are discussed by Suzanne G. Valenstein in Cultural Convergence in the Northern Qi Period. A Flamboyant Chinese Ceramic Container, New York, 2007, pp. 48 and 49, where she suggests a Hellenistic prototype for these figures.

此類北齊胡人面紋哨子，甚為罕見。玫茵堂藏一類例，錄於康蕊君，《玫茵堂中國陶瓷》，卷3，第2部分，倫敦，2006年，編號1365。北京故宮另藏有獸面紋哨子，定為唐代，刊於《故宮博物院藏品大系．陶瓷編》，卷4：隋唐五代，北京，2013年，圖版126。另見一黑釉例，見於劉遵義，《耀州窰》，陝西，1992 年，頁28右上。還有三彩者，兩例載於謝明良，《中國古代鉛釉陶的世界》，台北，2014年，圖版4.37及5.94。比較香港蘇富比成交一青釉例，售於2017年4月4日，編號3225.

Suzanne G. Valenstein 於其著作中指，這類胡人形象或受希臘藝術影響，參見《Cultural Convergence in the Northern Qi Period. A Flamboyant Chinese Ceramic Container》，紐約，2007年，頁48及49。