Lot 1253. A sancai-glazed pottery figure of an official, Tang dynasty (AD 618-907); 35¾ in. (90.7 cm.) high. Estimate USD 10,000 - USD 15,000. Price realised USD 13,750. © Christie's Images Ltd 2013 

The official is standing upright on a low, splash-glazed, rock-form base with the hands clasped in front and wearing an amber-glazed robe beneath a splash-glazed breastplate over cream-glazed trousers and amber shoes with upturned toes. The unglazed head has traces of pigments. The face is depicted with a stern expression and is surmounted by a tall official's hat detailed with a bird on top.

Provenance: Acquired in New York, 1985.

Note:  Compare related figures of this type and size illustrated by Liu Liang-yu in Early Wares: Prehistoric to Tenth Century, A Survey of Chinese Ceramics I, Taiwan, 1991, pp. 246-47. Another, shown as one of a pair, in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, is illustrated in the exhibition catalogue, Silk Roads-China Ships, 1983, p. 47.