Lot 732. A rare large pottery tile of a tiger, Han dynasty (220 BC-AD 220); 19 1⁄4 in. (48.6 cm.) wide, softwood frame. Price realised USD 25,200 (Estimate USD 10,000 - USD 15,000). © Christie's 2022
The tile is modeled in relief with a tiger with pronounced stripes emerging from the right side and stretching its forelegs.
Provenance: C.T. Loo (according to label).
Christian Humann (d. 1981), Pan Asian Collection, New York.
Exhibited: On loan: Denver Art Museum, prior to 1983.
Note: A very similar striding tiger can be seen decorating a pottery title illustrated in, “A Brief Report on the Cleanup of Hollow Brick Han Tombs in Xianyang City,” Kaogu 1982:3, pl. 1:1.M34. See, also, the Eastern Han pottery architectural element molded with more stylized depictions of tigers, which are shown flanking a bi disc, illustrated by Olov Jansé in Briques et Objets Céramiques Funéraires de l'Epoque des Han, C.T. Loo & Cie, Paris, 1936, pl. XVIII (3a-c), and later sold at Christie’s New York, Fine Chinese Art from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, 18 March 2009, lot 319.
Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, New York, 25 march 2022
