AN EXCEPTIONALLY RARE INSCRIBED STONE LION SUI DYNASTY, DATED DAYE 1ST YEAR, CORRESPONDING TO 605 |

powerfully carved, the muscular beast shown seated on its haunches licking its left foreleg, its head detailed with large rounded eyes below thick bushy brows, surmounted by pointed ears pressed back against the long mane flowering back over the neck, the arched back extending to a long bushy tail swept to the side, all raised on a rectangular base, inscribed to the front with a seven-character inscription translating to 'made in the second month of the first year of Daye', the stone of a mottled gray-buff color

Nagatani, Inc., Chicago, 7th December 1957
Collection of Stephen Junkunc, III (d. 1978).

In overall good condition with some minor chips and losses to the edges and extremities, including to one front corner of the rectangular base, by the 'da' character, all consistent with age. The underside with a later writing in black 'Ta Yeh 1st year 605 AD'.
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.

Skillfully rendered emphasizing the natural qualities of the animal, the present stone lion is not only a sculpture of outstanding beauty, but also an exceedingly rare piece of documentary importance, as it marks the adherence to a sculptural style initiated at the end of the Sui dynasty. Stemming from the Han dynasty tradition of placing pairs of animals along the spirit roads leading to important tombs, pre-Sui dynasty stone lions were dignified sculptures created to convey a solemn spiritual message. These lions thus became formalized, symbolic in nature, and often lacking a sense of realism in their physical features.  

This sculptural style continued into the Sui dynasty. See a pair of Sui stone lions in the Avery Brundage Collection, illustrated in René-Yvon Lefebvre d'Argencé and Diana Turner, ed., Chinese, Korean and Japanese Sculpture in the Avery Brundage Collection, Tokyo, 1974, pl. 78. However, Sui stone carvers simultaneously developed a fresh interest in imbuing their subjects with a natural aesthetic. As can be seen from the present lion, more attention was devoted in rendering the realistic movement and innate features of the animal. See also a related Sui dynasty stone lion, depicted resting its right paw on its cub, excavated in Tangjiazhai, Xi'an, Shaanxi province in 1975, now in the Beilin Museum, Xi'an. The same innovative style was fully adopted by the beginning of the 7th century, as evidenced by the inscription on the present lion, which dates to the 1st year of Daye, corresponding to 605.

Tang dynasty carvers readily embraced the Sui sculptor's trend towards naturalism. Rendered with anatomical fidelity, Tang stone lions were made in various postures imitating the animal in real life. For example, see a Tang dynasty lion, in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, published in Roger Ward and Patricia J. Fidler, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. A Handbook of the Collection, New York, 1993, p. 308; also four stone lions, each shown in a different posture, published in Osvald Sirén, Chinese Sculpture from the Fifth to the Fourteenth Century, vol. II, Bangkok, 1998, pl. 435, figs a-d; a pair of white marble lions, from the collection of the Honorable Senator Hugh Scott, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 4th April 2017, lot 3062; and another, depicted feeding on its prey, sold in these rooms, 1st June 1977, lot 371.