A painted grey pottery figure of a bull, Northern Wei dynasty (386-534)
Lot 1281. A painted grey pottery figure of a bull, Northern Wei dynasty (386-534); 6 in. (15.2 cm.) high. Estimate USD 6,000 - USD 8,000. Price realised USD 12,500. © Christie's Images Ltd 2011
The muscular beast modeled standing foursquare on a rectangular base, its well-formed head positioned between the large hump on its neck and the dewlap that hangs beneath, adorned with a decorative harness and trappings applied with circular bosses suspending oval-shaped ornaments, the details all accented with orange pigment.
Provenance: Kozo Moriya Collection, Kyoto, Japan.
Christie's, New York, 30 May 1991, lot 236.
Note: Compare a similar caparisoned ox illustrated by J. Ayers, Chinese Ceramics: The Koger Collection, London, 1985, pl. 7; another is included in the Idemitsu Museum of Art Exhibition of Ancient Chinese Works of Art, Tokyo, 1978, no. 154.
The result of Oxford themoluminescence test no. 566p33 is consistent with the dating of this lot.
Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art Part I and Part II Including Property from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, New York, 24 March 2011