Lot 1001. Property from the Stuart Collection. A burnished black pottery stem cup, Neolithic period, Longshan Culture, circa 2500-2000 BC; 23.8 cm high. Estimate USD 6,000 – USD 8,000. Price Realised USD 18,900. © Christie's Images Ltd 2024

Provenance: Susan Chen & Company, Hong Kong, 10 December 1994.
Mr. and Mrs. James E Breece III Collection, Evanston, Illinois.
Property from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. James E. Breece III; Christie's New York, 18 September 2003, lot 187.

Note: Thin, lustrous black pottery was made by the Neolithic cultures of Dawenkou and Longshan in the area of present day Shandong province in northeastern China. A similar black pottery cup was excavated at a Dawenkou culture site in Juxian, Shandong province, and was published in Kaogu xuebao, 1991, no. 2, pl. VIII:2. Compare, also, the cup with similar bowl and stem illustrated in Sekai toji zenshu, rev. ed., 1982, vol. 10, fig. 54, p. 163, as well as two related stem cups of this type illustrated by R. Krahl, Dawn of the Yellow Earth: Ancient Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, China Institute, New York, 2000, nos. 26 and 27.

Lot 1002. Property from the Stuart Collection. A massive grey pottery figure of a prancing horse, Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD); 123.2 cm high, lucite stand. Estimate USD 12,000 – USD 18,000. Price Realised USD 25,200. © Christie's Images Ltd 2024

Provenance: Chak's Co. Ltd., Hong Kong.
Littleton & Hennessy Oriental Art, London, 2 March 1998.

Note: This remarkably large and powerfully rendered pottery horse is similar in style to other Eastern Han examples from Sichuan province in central China, such as the smaller (106 cm. high) example from Majiashan, Xinduxian, illustrated in Wenwu ziliao congkan, vol. 9, 1985, pl. VI:5, and the example from Chengdu, also of smaller size (114 cm. high), illustrated in Kaogu xuebao, vol. 1, 1958, pl. 9:3. Like the present figure, these pottery horses display sharp modeling of the head with open mouth and flaring lips, bulging eyes, clipped mane, knotted tail, long neck held nearly upright, and are also shown prancing. Another similarly rendered Eastern Han pottery horse, but covered in a green glaze and shown standing foursquare, and of larger size (139.7 cm. high), in the collection of the Princeton University Art Musuem, is illustrated in the exhibition catalogue, Recarving China’s Past: Art, Archaeology, and Architecture of the “Wu Family Shrines”, Princeton University Art Museum, 2005, no. 50.

The result of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test no. C97e26 is consistent with the dating of this figure.

Lot 1003. Property from the Stuart Collection. A large painted grey pottery figure of a drummer, Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD); 73.7 cm high, cloth box. Estimate USD 6,000 – USD 8,000. Price Realised USD 60,480. © Christie's Images Ltd 2024

Provenance: Chak's Co. Ltd., Hong Kong.
Littleton & Hennessy Oriental Art, London,  8 May 1998.

Note: This lively dancer-musician is shown in mid-performance practicing a style of musical storytelling called shuochang. He rhythmically beats a drum tucked under his left arm, kicking his bare feet in time to the music. Sculptures such as the present example provide a glimpse into the lives and entertainments of these ancient people. A grey pottery figure of a drummer, depicted with the same energetic pose and singing, is illustrated in The Quest for Eternity: Chinese Ceramic Sculptures from the People’s Republic of China, San Francisco, 1987, pp. 75, 117, no. 38.

The result of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test no. C198n98 is consistent with the dating of this figure.

Lot 1004. Property from the Stuart Collection. A group of six painted grey pottery figures of equestrian soldiers and musicians, Sixteen Kingdoms period (AD 304-439); The largest: 40 cm high. Estimate USD 15,000 – USD 25,000. Price Realised USD 47,880. © Christie's Images Ltd 2024

Each rider is shown seated on an armored horse, five of the riders with their hands raised, and one with a suona (a double-reeded horn).

Provenance: Lam & Co., Hong Kong, 1998.

Note: Shown seated astride horses, the musicians are shown with their hands positioned to hold instruments and the soldiers holding reins. The clothing, hats, and presence of facial hair seen on these figures suggest the influence of non-Han Chinese traditions and the textured and vibrant cultural landscape of the time. Various grey pottery equestrian musicians and soldiers, similarly attired as the present figures, are illustrated Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Quest for Eternity: Chinese Ceramic Sculptures from the People’s Republic of China, Chronicle Books, San Francisco, 1987, pp. 79, 119, nos. 39-41.

The result of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test nos. C298c33 and C298d98 is consistent with the dating of these figures.

Lot 1005. Property from the Stuart Collection. A painted grey pottery figure of a court lady, Tang dynasty (AD 618-907); 31.1 cm high. Estimate USD 6,000 – USD 8,000. Price Realised USD 30,240. © Christie's Images Ltd 2024

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Provenance: Chak's Co. Ltd., Hong Kong.
Littleton & Hennessy Oriental Art, London, 8 May 1998

Note: The result of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test no. C198m12 is consistent with the dating of this figure.

Lot 1006. Property from the Stuart Collection. A group of eight painted grey pottery figures of female entertainers, Tang dynasty (AD 618-907); The largest: 22.2 cm high. Estimate USD 10,000 – USD 15,000. Price Realised USD 8,820. © Christie's Images Ltd 2024

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The group comprises six musicians playing various musical instruments and two dancers.

Provenance: Sotheby's New York, 27 November 1990, lot 101.

Note: Music and dance were highly popular at the Tang court, and the costumes and coiffures of these musicians and dancers reflect the fashion for women during the Tang dynasty. A painted pottery group of ten seated female musicians and a pair of standing figures shown in the midst of sleeve-tossing dance gestures, is illustrated by R. Hayashi in The Silk Road and the Shoso-in, New York/Tokyo, 1975, p. 96, no. 103. See, also, the two painted pottery seated female musicians wearing similar clothing to that of the current figures and with their hair also arranged in double topknots, in the Avery Brundage Collection, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, illustrated by W. Watson, Tang and Liao Ceramics, New York, 1984, p. 213 nos. 246 and 248.

Lot 1007. Property from the Stuart Collection. A large sancai-glazed pottery figure of a horse, Tang dynasty (AD 618-907); 74 cm high. Estimate USD 80,000 – USD 120,000. Price Realised USD 75,600. © Christie's Images Ltd 2024

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Provenance: Chak's Co. Ltd., Hong Kong.
Littleton & Hennessy Oriental Art, London, 8 May 1998.

Note: This impressively large and powerfully modeled horse captures the spirit of this celebrated animal and reveals the technical accomplishment and stylistic maturity of Chinese ceramic sculpture at the peak of the Tang dynasty. The most magnificent horses, immortalized in Chinese literature and the visual arts, were the Ferghana horses introduced into central China from the West during the Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 220). These horses were known for their speed, power and stamina, and were sometimes referred to as ‘thousand li horses’, after the belief that they were able to cover a thousand li in a single day. These horses were not just war horses or horses used for transport, but were also employed in leisure activities such as polo.

The present horse is beautifully decorated with a rich, amber-toned glaze, and with a stripe of cream glaze accenting the front of the head. The fitted saddle is covered by a green cloth over a sancai-splashed saddle blanket. The strong neck is turned slightly to the left and the lack of fittings emphasizes the powerful proportions and musculature of the figure. A similarly modeled large Tang horse (76.7 cm.), with head slightly turned and a cloth-covered saddle, with the body covered in an unusual dark blackish-brown glaze, was sold at Christie’s London, 17 June 2003, lot 8.

The result of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test no. C198m10 is consistent with the dating of this figure.

Lot 1008. Property from the Stuart Collection. A pair of large sancai-glazed pottery figures of earth spirits, Tang dynasty (AD 618-907); The larger: 101.3 cm high. Estimate USD 30,000 – USD 50,000. Price Realised USD 32,760. © Christie's Images Ltd 2024

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Provenance: Sotheby's New York, 23 September 1997, lot 211 (part).

Note: The strange physical forms and fierce expressions of these powerfully modeled figures were intended to emphasize their power over evil. Such figures always display commanding physiques with barrel-like chests and fierce expressions – in keeping with their role as powerful protectors - and each pair is made up of two distinct types. One of each pair has a snarling animal head, with prominent canine teeth and a rather leonine muzzle topped by a pair of curved horns. The horns often have additional sharp protuberances on the lower part at the front, as in the case of the current figure. The other figure in the pair has an almost human face, topped by what looks like either a long plume of hair or a long single, spiraled, horn and with large ears on either side of the head. This creature has cloven hooves and sits on its haunches with its front legs straight and firmly planted in front of it.

An earth spirit similar to the current figure with the leonine face is illustrated in The Tsui Museum of Art - Chinese Ceramics I: Neolithic to Liao, Hong Kong, 1993, no. 120.

Lot 1009. Property from the Stuart Collection. A pair of large sancai-glazed pottery figures of officials, Tang dynasty (AD 618-907); The larger: 109.2 cm high. Estimate USD 30,000 – USD 50,000. Unsold. © Christie's Images Ltd 2024

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Provenance: Sotheby's New York, 23 September 1997, lot 211 (part).

Note: This pair of large and impressive figures represents court officials of high rank. The contrasting green and amber robes complement each other, while the splashes on the breast plates create a decorative motif to link the two figures.

Compare a figure of this type and size (107 cm.) in the Luo Yang Museum, illustrated in Zhongguo wenwu jinghua dacidian taoci juan (Dictionary of Gems of Chinese Cultural Relics: Ceramics), Shanghai, 1995.

See, also, the very large example of this type (122.3 cm.), sold at Christie’s New York, 17 September 2008, lot 413.

Lot 1010. Property from the Stuart Collection. A pair of large sancai-glazed guardians figures, Tang dynasty (AD 618-907); The larger: 111.8 cm high. Estimate USD 40,000 – USD 60,000. Price Realised USD 44,100. © Christie's Images Ltd 2024

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Provenance: Sotheby's New York, 23 September 1997, lot 211 (part).

Note: These imposing figures are noteworthy for their fine modeling and masterful application of the glazes. As with other figures of this type, they are modeled with fierce, scowling expressions and a threatening stance, and they carry on the tradition of the massive stone guardian figures (lishi) that were positioned at the entrances to cave-shrines during the early Tang dynasty. The glazed pottery figures of the mid-8th century had now evolved into military guardians and were dressed in elaborate armor like the present pair.

For another imposing figure of this type, also shown standing on a recumbent bull, but of even larger size (123 cm.), see The Tsui Museum of Art - Chinese Ceramics I: Neolithic to Liao, Hong Kong, 1993, no. 119. Another similar example with bird-crested helmet and shown standing on a bull, of slightly smaller size (90 cm.), is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and illustrated by M. Medley in T’ang Pottery and Porcelain, London, 1981, p. 62, no. 54.

Lot 1011. Property from the Stuart Collection. A Cizhou-type black-glazed ribbed jar, Northern Song-Jin dynasty (960-1234); 23.5 cm high. Estimate USD 18,000 – USD 25,000. Price Realised USD 17,640. © Christie's Images Ltd 2024

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Provenance: Uchida Collection, Japan.
Spink & Son Ltd., London, 1998.

Note: Dark-glazed jars of this type, decorated with vertical ribs of trailed white slip, were produced in various sizes and shapes at a number of Cizhou kiln sites in Shandong, Henan and Hebei provinces. A jar of similar shape and decorated with vertical groupings of white-slip ribs, but in groups of four rather than six, such as on the current jar, from the Bernat Collection, was included included in the Currier Gallery of Art exhibition, Chinese Ceramics of the Sung Dynasty, New Hampshire, 1959, no. 86, and was later sold at Sotheby’s New York, 7 November 1980, lot 172. See, also, the jar of this type from the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Janos Szekeres, but with single, vertical white-slip ribs evenly dispersed around the body, illustrated by R. D. Mowry, Hare’s Fur, Tortoiseshell, and Partridge Feathers: Chinese Brown-and Black Glazed Ceramics, 400-1400, Cambridge, 1996, pp. 174-9, no. 61.

Lot 1012. Property from the Stuart Collection. A small carved Cizhou blackish-brown-glazed jar, Jin dynasty (1115-1234); 10.2 cm diam. Estimate USD 15,000 – USD 20,000. Price Realised USD 56,700. © Christie's Images Ltd 2024

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Provenance: Dr. and Mrs. Marvin L. Gordon Collection, San Francisco.
J. J. Lally & Co., New York, 2009, no. X1690.

Literature: J. Ayers, M. Medley and N. Wood, Iron in the Fire: The Chinese Potters' Exploration of Iron Oxide Glazes, Oriental Ceramic Society, London, 1988, p. 46, no. 31.
R. D. Mowry, Hare's Fur, Tortoiseshell, and Partridge Feathers: Chinese Brown- and Black-Glazed Ceramics, 400- 1400, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1996, pp. 188-89, no. 67.
J. J. Lally & Co., Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art: The Collection of Dr. & Mrs. Marvin L. Gordon, New York, 2009, no. 47.

Exhibited: Oxford, Ashmolean Museum, Iron in the Fire: The Chinese Potters' Exploration of Iron Oxide Glazes, 10 May-19 June 1988.
Travelling exhibition: Cambridge, Harvard University Art Museum; New York, China Institute Gallery; Madison, Elvehjem Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin, Hare's Fur, Tortoiseshell, and Partridge Feathers: Chinese Brown- and Black-Glazed Ceramics, 400- 1400, 1996-1997.
New York, J. J. Lally & Co., Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art: The Collection of Dr. & Mrs. Marvin L. Gordon, 12 March-4 April 2009.

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, New York, 19-20 September 2024