Lot 1110. A pair of unusual small straw-glazed pottery earth spirits, Sui dynasty (581-618), 9¾ and 9½ in. (24.8 and 24 cm.) high. Estimate USD 4,000 - USD 6,000. Price realised USD 15,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2011

Each shown seated with front feet firmly planted, one with a humanoid face flanked by ears, with a short horn and a flame rising from the back of the head and two from the backbone, the other with leonine face, a pair of horns, a flame on the top of the head and another on the back, both covered with a finely crackled clear glaze over the white body.

Provenance: Christie's, New York, 4 June 1992, lot 246. 

Christie's. Magnificent Qing Monochrome Porcelains and Earlier Works of Art from the Gordon Collection, 24 March 2011, New York