Lot 22. A straw-glazed amphora, Tang dynasty (618-907). Height 12 1/2  in., 31.7 cm. Estimate 5,000 - 7,000 USD.  Lot sold 17,500 USD. © Sotheby's

the body of elegant ovoid form surmounted by a narrow waisted neck with cup-shaped mouth, set on the domed shoulders with a pair of double strap handles, the dragon-head terminals biting the lipped rim, molded on the neck with a series of horizontal bands and covered with a finely crackled glaze with olive tint, falling irregularly down the sides, Japanese wood box (4). 

Provenance: Mayuyama & Co., Ltd., Tokyo, acquired between 1960-1969.

Note: A larger amphora of similar form and decoration dated to the Tang dynasty in the Idemitsu Art Gallery is illustrated in Chugoku ko-dai no buijitsu (Art of Ancient China), Tokyo, 1978, fig. 159.