Lot 11. A rare blue-glazed pottery figure of a male attendant, Tang Dynasty (618-907); 33cm (13in) high. Estimate £8,000 - 12,000. Sold for £ 10,000 (€ 11,472). © Bonhams.

The figure modelled standing on a square base with head turned the hands clasped at his chest within the long sleeves of his blue-glazed long belted tunic falling above pointed shoes, the unglazed face with a benevolent expression beneath hair swept up in a double-bun topknot bound in a kerchief, with traces of pink and black pigment.

Provenance: Bluett & Sons Ltd., London
Carter Fine Art Ltd., London, 24 May 1993
Jean-Yves Ollivier Collection.

Published and Illustrated: Bluett & Sons Ltd., Catalogue, London, 1991, no.11
N.Wood, Chinese Glazes: Their Origin, Chemistry and Recreation, London, 1999, p.237

Note: The figure belongs to the sancai-glazed group and within it the rarest and most highly-prized blue-glazed forms. Blue pigment was particularly expensive as the cobalt was imported from central Asia. More typically, blue pigment was used along other colours such as brown or ochre, and is much more rarely seen as the sole decorative element as the present lot. 

The figure belongs to the sancai-glazed group and within it the rarest and most highly-prized blue-glazed forms. Blue pigment was particularly expensive as the cobalt was imported from central Asia. More typically, blue pigment was used along other colours such as brown or ochre, and is much more rarely seen as the sole decorative element as the present lot. 

The figure belongs to the sancai-glazed group and within it the rarest and most highly-prized blue-glazed forms. Blue pigment was particularly expensive as the cobalt was imported from central Asia. More typically, blue pigment was used along other colours such as brown or ochre, and is much more rarely seen as the sole decorative element as the present lot. 

A related glazed pottery figure of a male attendant, Tang dynasty, was sold at Sothebys's New York, 13 September 2016, lot 9.

The result of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test no.C118j32, dated 1 August 2018, is consistent with the dating of this lot.

Bonhams. The Ollivier Collection of Early Chinese Art, London, 8 Nov 2018