A sancai-glazed 'phoenix' ewer, Tang dynasty

German Private Collection, formed from the late 1980s to the early 2000s.

Enrobed in a vibrant sancai ('three colour') glaze, the present ewer is a particularly fine example of 'High Tang' style, moulded with an exotic hunting scene and phoenix. The overall phoenix form and moulded design of the present ewer were inspired by Sassanian metal flasks which came into China along the Silk Road. Compare a possible fifth century Sassanian prototype without a phoenix head decorated with figural motifs, unearthed from the tomb of Li Xian in Ningxia, in The Silk Road: Treasures of Tang China, Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore, 1991, p. 24. 

Compare a small number of related ewers found in important collections around the world, including one similarly decorated on one side with a phoenix, and a foreigner riding on a lion on the other, illustrated in Sekai toji zenshu, vol. 11, Tokyo, 1976, pls 40 and 41; and one in the Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo, illustrated in Margaret Medley, T’ang Pottery & Porcelain, London, 1981, pl. 19. Also compare a closely related ewer sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 31st May 2017, lot 3110.

The dating of this lot is consistent with the results of a Ralf Kotalla thermoluminescence test, no. 17110705, dated 24th July 2005.