Lot 790. A large olive-glazed red pottery figure of a foreign soldier, China, Sui dynasty (AD 581-618); 23 in. (58.5 cm.) high. Estimate $10,000 - $15,000. Price Realized $20,000. © Christie's Image Ltd 2015

Shown standing stiffly on a circular base and wearing a long, olive-glazed coat with rounded collar, the sleeves hanging by the sides, a large splash of glaze partially covers his cap and his unglazed face modeled with a short beard, mustache, and almond-shaped eyes, the head with traces of pigment.

Provenance: Christian Humann (d. 1981), by 1965, named the Pan-Asian Collection by 1977.
The Collection of Robert H. Ellsworth, New York, acquired in 1982.

Exhibited: On loan: Denver Art Museum, 1965-1983.

Note: This rare figure is similar in type to a figure of a bearded foreigner in the Tenri Sankokan Museum, Japan, illustrated by W. Watson in Tang and Liao Ceramics, New York, 1984, p. 211, no. 231. The long coat and stance, as well as large size, are similar.

Christie's. THE COLLECTION OF ROBERT HATFIELD ELLSWORTH PART IV - CHINESE WORKS OF ART: METALWORK, SCULPTURE AND EARLY CERAMICS, 20 March 2015, New York, Rockefeller Plaza.