Lot 36. A rare olive-glazed pottery figure of a soldier, Sui Dynasty (589-618); 64.8cm (25 1/2in) high. Estimate 3 000 € - 5 000 €. Sold for €28,050. Photo Fabrice Gousset.

The guardian figure standing straight with arms along each side, the unglazed bearded face looking ahead, with rounded eyes and well-defined cheeks above the detailed mouth and finely incised long pleated beard, wearing an olive-glazed capped helmet and flowing robes open at the centre, with the unglazed feet protruding below the undergarments, all raised on an oval platform. 

Provenance: Jean-Pierre Rousset, Paris (1936-2021).

Note: Compare with a related figure of a bearded foreigner in the Tenri Sankokan Museum, Japan, illustrated by W.Watson, Tang and Liao Ceramics, New York, 1984, p.211, no.231. See also a large olive-glazed red pottery figure of a soldier, Sui dynasty, which was sold at Christie's New York, 20 March 2015, lot 790.

From The Collection of Robert H. Ellsworth. A large olive-glazed red pottery figure of a soldier, Sui dynasty. Sold for $20,000 at Christie's New York, 20 March 2015, lot 790. © Christie's Image Ltd 2015 

Cf. my post: A large olive-glazed red pottery figure of a foreign soldier, China, Sui dynasty (AD 581-618)

Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr Paris. The Robert and Jean-Pierre Rousset Collection of Asian Art: A Century of Collecting - Part 1. Paris, 25 october 2022.