- 75
AN EXCEPTIONALLY RARE GREEN-GLAZED PHOENIX-HEAD POTTERY EWER TANG DYNASTY
Estimate
80,000 - 120,000 USD
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Description
- Pottery
the flattened pear-shaped body supported on a high splayed foot and rising to a slender waisted neck surmounted by a fierce phoenix head clasping a pearl in its beak, its crest opening to form the quatrefoil mouth, a loop handle stretching from the shoulder to the back of the phoenix's head, the vessel crisply molded with bands of overlapping lappets and radiating vertical ribs at the foot, with teardrop-form panels to each side of the body, each centered with an applied lion mask on a stippled ground framed by four ruyi-shaped motifs, applied overall with a vibrant green glaze, except for the eyes and pearl, applied with straw and cream glazes, Japanese wood box (3)
Literature
Sekai Toji Zenshu 9 Zui To Hen / Collection of World's Ceramics, vol. 9, Tokyo, 1961, pl. 80.
Condition
The handles has been restored from three breaks. The rim has two chips (approx. 2 cm and approx, 3 cm, respectively). The glaze has expected wear and crazing from age and burial. The glaze has been replaced in some areas, including at the rim, the bird's face (especially to the eyes and beak), and the foot (the foot to three sections: approx. 2.5 cm, approx. 4 cm, and approx. 5 cm, respectively). The base is uneven.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
Catalogue Note
This piece is an extremely rare and outstanding example of phoenix-head ewers that were inspired by Sassanian metal examples and adapted to suit Chinese taste. The form and molded relief decoration follow metal wares of the Middle East, while the phoenix-head and ruyi-shaped panel bordered by further ruyi heads remain firmly rooted in Chinese tradition. Thus, it embodies the commercial and cultural exchange that characterizes the art of the early Tang dynasty.
Phoenix-head ewers molded with applied masks against a stippled ground, which are reminiscent of granulated metalwork, are rare and those covered almost entirely in a monochrome green glaze are even rarer. A sancai ewer of this design and with a stippled ground, sold in our London rooms, 7th December 1993, lot 139; one lacking the stipples from the Hakone Art Museum, Hakone, is illustrated in Mayuyama: Seventy Years, Tokyo, 1976, vol. 1, pl. 233; another is published in Hirano Tatsuo, Kotoken Senka, Osaka, 1988, pl. 40; a fourth, from the George Eumorfopoulos collection, now in the British Museum, London, is illustrated in R.L. Hobson, The Eumorfopoulos Collection, vol. 1, London, 1925, col. pl. L, fig. 389; and a further ewer sold in our London rooms, 7th November 1993, lot 139. See also a sancai ewer of this type, but molded on the central panels with flower heads, in the Shaanxi Provincial Museum, Xi’an, illustrated in Out of China’s Earth: Archaeological Discoveries in the People’s Republic of China, London, 1981, pl. 244; and another with a stippled ground, in the Gansu Provincial Museum, Lanzhou, published in Zhongguo wenwu jinghua Daquan. Taozi juan [The quintessence of Chinese cultural relics. Ceramics], Hong Kong, 1993, p. 126, pl. 440.
Margaret Medley in Metalwork and Chinese Ceramics, London, 1972 (p. 4), discusses the far-reaching effect on Tang potters of the opening of diplomatic relations between the Chinese Emperor Yangdi of the Sui dynasty and the Sassanian Persian Empire (224-651), which led to the exchange of tributary gifts as well as the arrival of Persian craftsmen at the Imperial court in the Tang capital Chang’an (today’s Xi’an, Shaanxi).
Phoenix-head ewers molded with applied masks against a stippled ground, which are reminiscent of granulated metalwork, are rare and those covered almost entirely in a monochrome green glaze are even rarer. A sancai ewer of this design and with a stippled ground, sold in our London rooms, 7th December 1993, lot 139; one lacking the stipples from the Hakone Art Museum, Hakone, is illustrated in Mayuyama: Seventy Years, Tokyo, 1976, vol. 1, pl. 233; another is published in Hirano Tatsuo, Kotoken Senka, Osaka, 1988, pl. 40; a fourth, from the George Eumorfopoulos collection, now in the British Museum, London, is illustrated in R.L. Hobson, The Eumorfopoulos Collection, vol. 1, London, 1925, col. pl. L, fig. 389; and a further ewer sold in our London rooms, 7th November 1993, lot 139. See also a sancai ewer of this type, but molded on the central panels with flower heads, in the Shaanxi Provincial Museum, Xi’an, illustrated in Out of China’s Earth: Archaeological Discoveries in the People’s Republic of China, London, 1981, pl. 244; and another with a stippled ground, in the Gansu Provincial Museum, Lanzhou, published in Zhongguo wenwu jinghua Daquan. Taozi juan [The quintessence of Chinese cultural relics. Ceramics], Hong Kong, 1993, p. 126, pl. 440.
Margaret Medley in Metalwork and Chinese Ceramics, London, 1972 (p. 4), discusses the far-reaching effect on Tang potters of the opening of diplomatic relations between the Chinese Emperor Yangdi of the Sui dynasty and the Sassanian Persian Empire (224-651), which led to the exchange of tributary gifts as well as the arrival of Persian craftsmen at the Imperial court in the Tang capital Chang’an (today’s Xi’an, Shaanxi).