A Superb GREEN AND AMBER GLAZED POTTERY Buddhist RELIQUARY China, Tang Dynasty

the central faceted vessel molded with six paired doors and applied handles, flanked by incised lattice motifs within frames applied with bosses, below molded eaves and outswept gabled roofs terminating in six dragon-heads, all supported on a separate and elaborate lotus base issuing from a hexagonal plinth of lion-mask medallions, set within a reticulated balustrade adorned with six finials of crouching lions, raised on a flared base superbly modelled with six Atlas figures above pierced cloud-shaped vents flanked by further lion-mask medallions against incised lotus lappets, all surmounted by a cover in the form of a ribbed olive-shaped vessel surmounted by a rich amber-glazed stupa finial rising from overlapping petals, the rest of the reliquary covered with a leaf green glaze degraded to a brilliant iridescent silvery green in areas

Tang pagoda-shaped reliquary vessels of this form with distinctive Buddhist influences are rare, although a reliquary of this type, different in composition but belonging to this group of vessels, was sold in these rooms, 23rd March 2004, lot 611. Two comparable jars with pagoda-lids and tall elaborate stands, all in sancai  glazes, unearthed in 1959 from the Tang tomb site at Zhongbao village, near Xi'an, Shaanxi province, are currently preserved in the Shaanxi Museum of Chinese History and are illustrated in Zhongguo taoci quanji, vol. 6, Shanghai, 2000, pl. 128.

See also a related Tang reliquary jar with a pagoda lid, resting on a lotus platform carried by an elephant, included in the exhibition The Silk Road. Treasures of Tang China, Empress Palace Museum, Singapore, 1991, p. 115.