A sancai figure of a foreigner holding a 'goose' wine vessel, Tang dynasty | 唐 三彩抱鵝壺俑

Eskenazi Ltd, London, 1987.

Christie's New York, 18th September 2015, lot 2299.

埃斯卡納齊，倫敦，1987年

紐約佳士得2015年9月18日，編號2299

Jan Chapman, 'A New Look at 'Wine Carriers' among Tang Dynasty Figurines', Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, vol. 52, 1987-88, pl. 6.

Jan Chapman，〈A New Look at 'Wine Carriers' among Tang Dynasty Figurines〉，《東方陶瓷學會期刊》，第52期，1987-88年，圖版6

This playful vessel belongs to a well-known group of Tang sancai earthenware figures of wine merchants, depicting foreign male or female figures holding either a wineskin bag, or a vessel in the form of a goose or a lion with a rhinoceros horn inserted as a stopper, which could also be used as a cup. Fragrant grape wine, as opposed to rice wine, was an expensive commodity imported from Western Asia and popular among the upper echelons of Tang society. While wine became more accessible in the 8th century, after a new variety of grapes began to be grown in Turfan, Gansu province, and in northern Shanxi province, imported wine continued to be sought after. It is interesting to note that the present figure is presumably wearing a hat made of felt, which was introduced into China by foreign merchants and thereafter adopted by the Chinese (see Wenwu, no. 4, 1984, pp. 60-61).

Two related figures in the Rietberg Museum and the Burrell Collection are also illustrated in Jan Chapman's paper where the present figure was featured; see 'A New Look at 'Wine Carriers' among Tang Dynasty Figurines', Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, vol. 52, 1987-88, pp. 11-20, pls 1-2. Compare also an example sold in our New York rooms, 2nd November 1979, lot 181, now in the Idemitsu Museum of Art and illustrated in its 15th Anniversary Catalogue, 1981, cat. no. 624; and another female figure from the collection of Anna Ilsley Ball Kneeland, sold at Christie's New York, 19th September 2014, lot 704.