TWO PAINTED POTTERY DWARFS
TANG DYNASTY
Estimate: £1,500 - £2,000
Auction: 08 November 2024 from 10:00 GMT
Description
唐 加彩侏儒陶俑（共兩件）
each wears a short, overlapping coat tied with a belt at the waist, the right arm half raised with clenched fist, whilst the left arm hangs beside the body, carrying a large sack across shoulders, the head covered with a tightly fitting hat, and the minutely modelled face has an amused expression with deeply defined facial features, with traces of red and black pigment visible on the clothes and hat (2)
Dimensions
heights: 12.2cm and 12.5cm
Provenance
Private collection, London;
The result of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test no. C124k5 is consistent with the dating of this lot.
倫敦私人收藏；
本拍品經牛津熱釋光檢測編號C124k5，結果與其斷代相符。
Footnote
It is well known that the potters of the Tang dynasty took great delight in depicting the unusual characters that arrived in China along the flourishing trade routes. Figures of foreign grooms are often seen, as are servants and entertainers. Dwarves, however, are very rare. They were mostly sent from Africa, Japan or Southeast Asian kingdoms to the Tang court or nobility as tribute gifts; see 'Appreciate the painted pottery dwarfs in the collection of the Zhaoling Museum’ in World of Antiquity, 2017(05), pp. 58-61. The facial features of this pottery figure are distinctly non-Chinese and have been slightly exaggerated for effect. A comparable example, similar in size, gesture, facial expression and costume, is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number: 1985.208.6. Another closely comparable example was in the Seligman Collection and now in the collection of the British Museum, registration number: 1973,0726.187.