Important Chinese Art
Important Chinese Art
TANG SANCAI - THE SZE YUAN TANG COLLECTION | 思源堂舊藏唐三彩珍品
A RARE SANCAI-GLAZED INCENSE BURNER, TANG DYNASTY | 唐 三彩力士六足香爐
Auction Closed
November 4, 07:52 PM GMT
Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
TANG SANCAI - THE SZE YUAN TANG COLLECTION
思源堂舊藏唐三彩珍品
A RARE SANCAI-GLAZED INCENSE BURNER
TANG DYNASTY
唐 三彩力士六足香爐
the cylindrical vessel with short, straight sides and wide everted rim, supported on six feet shaped as guardian figures, all resting on an integral dish-shaped base, decorated with a mottled green, amber and straw glaze, leaving the interior and the dish base unglazed
Width 13.5 cm, 5⅓ in.
思源堂收藏
While the form of this censer closely follows metal prototypes, its feet are in the form of guardian figures, known in Buddhist iconography as Yakshas. These guardians are benign semi-divine beings, half gods half demons, and are recognizable by their stocky pot-bellied appearance. In the Tang dynasty, they were generally depicted with large bulging eyes and wearing only a loin cloth, which gave them an exotic appearance.
Sancai censers with feet in the form of guardians are unusual. Two related pieces, one excavated from a tomb in Luoyang, are illustrated in Zhongguo gu ciyao daxi. Zhongguo Gongyi yao/Series of China’s Ancient Porcelain Kiln Sites. Gongyi Kiln of China, Beijing, 2011, p. 428, centre; another is illustrated in Sekai toji zenshu/ Ceramic Art of the World, vol. 11, Tokyo, 1976, pl. 222.