Lot 807. Property from the Collection of Dorothy Tapper Goldman. A very rare painted pottery figure of a seated boy, Song dynasty (960-1279) ; 30 cm high. Estimate USD 60,000 – USD 80,000. Unsold. © Christie’s 2024.

Provenance : Private collection, Germany, 1950s (by repute).
Raimann & Raimann, Weisbaden, Germany, 2010.
Property from a Private New England Collection; Sotheby's New York, 15 March 2017, lot 601.

Literature : Pengliang Lu, "Beyond a wish for Progeny: Boys in Chinese Art", Arts of Asia, March-April 2019, pp. 78-87, fig. 12..

Exhibited : New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Children to Immortals: Figural Representations in Chinese Art, 9 August 2018 - 23 February 2020.

Note : While depictions of boys were a popular theme in the Song dynasty, such large pottery figures as the present boy are extremely rare. The theme expresses the wish for many male children, and boys appear as decoration in every media, including qingbai and Yaozhou wares and as the figural base of pillows. Song-dynasty miniature pottery figures can also be found, such as a group of five Northern Song miniature red pottery boys in the Zhengjiang City Museum, illustrated in Zhongguo wenwu jinghua daquan: taocijuan (The Compendium of Chinese Archaeological Treasures: Ceramics Volume), Hong Kong, 1993, p. 171, no. 584. A rare miniature Ding figure of a boy from the Falk Collection was sold at Christie’s New York, 16 October 2001.

The current life-size figure of a boy is extremely rare. A related pottery figure of a boy, seated with the hands raised and of comparable size (31.7 cm.) to the present figure was offered at Sotheby’s New York, 21 September 2005, lot 60. This related figure also wears with bracelets and an amulet at the neck, but is molded and painted with clothing.

When the present figure was included in the exhibition Children to Immortals: Figural Representations in Chinese Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, it was noted that “Song historical tests and archaeological discoveries indicate that this type of pottery doll (nihai’er), elaborately dressed with real clothes and jewelry, was made for the Qixi Festival (the seventh day of the seventh lunar month) and kept in people’s homes to express the wish for many male children.” (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/775525)

The result of Oxford thermoluminescence test no.C205m5 is consistent with the dating of this lot.

Lot 811. Property from the Collection of Dorothy Tapper Goldman. A group of four small Ding floriform dishes, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127) ; 8.5 cm diam. Estimate USD  5,000 – USD 7,000 © Christie’s 2024.

Provenance : The Property of a Lady; Christie's New York, 20 September 2002, lot 279.

Literature : The Denver Art Museum, Bright as Silver, White as Snow: Chinese White Ceramics from Late Tang to Yuan Dynasty, October 1998-October 1999, no. 17.

Exhibited : Colorado, The Denver Art Museum, Bright as Silver, White as Snow: Chinese White Ceramics from Late Tang to Yuan Dynasty, October 1998-October 1999.

Lot 813. Property from the Collection of Dorothy Tapper Goldman. A persimmon-glazed conical stoneware floriform bowl, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127) ; 16.5 cm diam. Estimate USD 6,000 – USD 8,000 © Christie’s 2024.

Lot 814. Property from the Collection of Dorothy Tapper Goldman. A Longquan celadon ‘lotus petal’ bowl, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279) ; 16.8 cm diam. Estimate USD 6,000 – USD 8,000 © Christie’s 2024.

Lot 815. Property from the Collection of Dorothy Tapper Goldman. A Longquan celadon zhadou, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279) ; 11.2 cm diam. Estimate USD 10,000 – USD 15,000 © Christie’s 2024.

Note: Compare the similar but larger (13 cm. diam.) Longquan zhadou dated to the Southern Song dynasty, from the Linyushanren Collection, sold at Christie’s New York, 22 March 2019, lot 1718. See, also, the example dated to the late Northern Song dynasty, illustrated by Zhu Boqian in Celadons from Longquan Kilns, Taipei, 1998, p. 171 no. 143.

Lot 817. Property from the Collection of Dorothy Tapper Goldman. A painted Cizhou circular box and covezr, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279) ; 11.7 cm diam. Estimate USD 4,000 – USD  6,000 © Christie’s 2024.

Provenance : Yang De Tang Collection, Taiwan.
Song Tradition: Early Ceramics from the Yang De Tang Collection; Sotheby's New York, 17 March 2015, lot 80.

Christie's. Important Chinese Art Including the Collection of Dorothy Tapper Goldman, New York, 22 march 2024.