Lot 7. A blue and sancai-glazed 'mask' pillow, Tang Dynasty (618-907); 12.3cm (4 7/8in) wide. (2). Sold for HKD 204,000  (Estimate HKD 120,000 - HKD 180,000). © Bonhams 2001-2022

Of rectangular section, the slightly concave top with an impressed design of a leonine earth spirit, qi, mask and two borders of the four-petalled mallow flowers on the sides, all resist-glazed in blue, cream and amber on a green ground flanked by amber and cream borders, the sides also splash glazed in amber and cream, tiny vent hole on one side, box.

Provenance: An Asian private collection

Note: The present example is particularly unusual for the addition of blue glaze, for a closely related Tang dynasty blue and sancai-glazed pillow in the Tokyo National Museum, illustrated in Sekai tōji zenshū (Ceramic Art of the World), Tokyo, 1976, vol.11, pl.56; compare also with a Tang dynasty sancai-glazed 'mandarin duck' pillow, ibid., pl.57.

The result of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test no. C108n96 is consistent with the dating of this lot.

Lot 9. A blue and sancai-glazed deep dish, Tang Dynasty (618-907); 24.8cm (9 3/4in) diam. (2). Sold for HKD 318,000 (Estimate HKD 300,000 - HKD 450,000). © Bonhams 2001-2022

With deep sides rising from a flat base, impressed at the center with a large stylized lotus, the central pod issuing overlapping petals, all in green, amber and straw glazes and reserved on a dappled amber-glazed ground, the sides with bold green, amber and straw-glazed crescent moon pattern, the exterior with a lustrous amber glaze stopping unevenly above the base to reveal the pinkish buff ware body, box.

Provenance: An Asian private collection.

Note: The same Indian-lotus motif is also found on a Tang dynasty sancai-glazed tripod dish, illustrated in Sekai tōji zenshū (Ceramic Art of the World), Tokyo, 1976, vol.11, p.79, pl.59.

The result of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test no. C108u9 is consistent with the dating of this lot.

Lot 12. A sancai-glazed jar, Tang Dynasty (618-907); 26cm (10 1/4in) high. (2). Sold for HKD 355,800 (Estimate HKD 250,000 - HKD 350,000). © Bonhams 2001-2022

Potted with an ovoid body rising from a splayed foot, surmounted by a short neck with an everted rim, the exterior splashed with green and amber glaze on the cream coloured body, the domed cover similarly glazed, surmounted by a bud-shaped finial, the unglazed foot and underside of the cover revealing the buff-coloured body, box.

Provenance: An Asian private collection.

Note: The narrow everted rim and the high splayed foot are unusual features on vases like the present piece, compare with a related Tang dynasty sancai-glazed vase (cover missing), illustrated by Mario Prodan, The Art of The T'ang Potter, London, 1960, pl.VI.

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, Hong Kong, 30 November 2022