A jar and cover of similar proportions, in the Meiyintang Collection, is illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 3 (I), London, 2006, pl. 1294; one in the Gemeentemuseum, The Hague, is illustrated in Nigel Wood, Chinese Glazes, London, 1999, p. 204; another was sold in our London rooms, 23rd May 1972, lot 73; and a slightly smaller example from the Ataka Collection, in the Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka, is published in Masterpieces of Chinese and Korean Ceramics in the Ataka Collection. China, Tokyo, 1980, pl. 52. See also a much larger blue-glazed jar and cover, from the collection of the National Trust at Ascott House, published in Margaret Medley, T’ang Pottery and Porcelain, London, 1981, p. 16.

Lot 523. A rare and well-modeled painted pottery figure of a lady holding a dog, Tang dynasty (618-907). Height 20 1/4  in., 51.4 cm. Estimate USD 20,000 — 30,000. Lot Sold 52,500 USD.  Courtesy Sotheby's.

standing in an elegant swaying pose with hands raised cradling a dog naturalistically modeled with incised fur, wearing long, heavy robes falling in deep folds to the base, the fully rounded features framed by the long hair drawn into an elaborate coiffure arranged in a dramatic crescent face and an asymmetrical twisted top knot, with traces of pigment, wood stand, Japanese wood box (4).

Note: Sensitively fashioned with a plump face, small heart-shaped lips and the head slightly turned to one side, pottery figures with such voluptuous features are attributed to the first half of the 8th century, and in particular to the reign of Emperor Xuanzong (r. 712-756). The plump features of these figures, their long voluminous robes and flamboyant hairstyles are believed to be representative of the aesthetic trend led by the famous imperial concubine Yang Guifei (719-756), beloved consort of the Emperor. Her distinctive hairstyle, known as ‘duomaji’ 'falling off the horse bun', originated according to legend with the Emperor’s fascination with Yang Guifei’s appearance after she fell from a horse.

Ceramic figures of ladies-in-waiting holding small dogs are comparatively rare; a closely related example, possibly the pair to this piece, is illustrated in Sekai tōji zenshū/Ceramic Art of the World, vol. 11, Tokyo, 1976, col. pl. 29. See also a pottery figure of a lady holding a dog, but with hands exposed, in the collection of Julius Eberhardt, illustrated in Regina Krahl, Frühe Chinesische Kunst/Early Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 1999, vol. 1, pl. 130; and another with a different coiffure, from the collection of David W. Dewey, published in Celestial Horses and Long Sleeve Dancers, Minneapolis, 2013, p. 180 (right).

Lot 525. A large sancai-glazed pottery jar, Tang dynasty (618-907). Width 9 in., 23 cm. Estimate USD 6,000 — 8,000. Unsold. Courtesy Sotheby's.

the finely potted globular body with steeply rounded sides rising from a flat circular base to an incurved canted rim, the shoulder set with two knopped lug handles, the handles and the upper body applied with green, amber and ivory glazes forming a textile-inspired pattern of vertical bands and floret medallions over a white slip, the rim applied with an amber glaze with a pale amber glaze to the interior, lacquered wood cover and Japanese wood box (4).

Note: Sancai-glazed jars of this form are more commonly known of smaller size, such as a jar sold in these rooms, 4th June 1985, lot 93; and another sold in our Los Angeles rooms, 31st May 1978, lot 1285. See also a smaller jar of this form decorated only with florets, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures in the Palace Museum. Porcelain of the Jin and Tang Dynasties, Hong Kong, 1996, pl. 206; another with lozenges, from the Yang De Tang Collection, included in the exhibition Chinese Ceramics of Eight Dynasties, National Museum of History, Beijing, Taipei, 1987, p. 22 (top), and sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 6th October 2015, lot 88; and a jar with splashes sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 11th May 1983, lot 18.

A fragment of a jar of this form and similarly decorated with florets divided by vertical lines was recovered at the Gongxian kiln site at Huangye in Gongyi, Henan province, and is illustrated in Three-Colour Glazed Pottery Kilns of the Tang Dynastyat Huangye, Beijing, 2000, col. pl. 58.4, together with a reconstructed example with splashes, col. pl. 20.2.

Sotheby's. A Noble Pursuit: Important Chinese and Korean Art from a Japanese Private Collection, New York, 11 September 2019