Lot 2069. A  well-modeled sancai-glazed pottery figure of a lokapala, Tang dynasty (AD 618-907); 36½ in. (92.7 cm.) high. Estimate USD 25,000 - USD 35,000. Price Realized USD 35,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2014. 

The guardian is shown standing on top of a recumbent ox, with his head turned to the right, his right hand placed on his hip and his left hand raised to hold a weapon. His unglazed face is painted with red to accent the fierce expression and topped with radiating flame-like hair embellished with ornaments. He is dressed in elaborate armor including a breastplate with scrolls and animal-mask epaulets surmounted by flames, all glazed in amber, green and cream. Together with a catalogue of The Oriental Ceramic Society, Loan Exhibition of the Arts of the T'ang Dynasty, 25 Feburary - 30 March 1955.

Provenance: Collection of Mr. and Mrs. D.W. Rudorff, London.
Lawrence Hayden Collection, Portland, Maine, 1955.
Sotheby's New York, 19 September 2001, lot 116.
Acquired by the present owner in 2006.

Exhibited: London, Oriental Ceramic Society, The Arts of the T'ang Dynasty, 1955, no. 2.

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, New York, 20 - 21 March 2014