A small black limestone figure of a lion, Tang dynasty | 唐 黑石雕瑞獅坐像

This stone lion is outstanding for its sensitive rendering: its mane is skillfully carved with tight curls, the muscular body exudes the animal’s powerful and nimble nature, while its ferociousness is immediately sensed through the gaping mouth that reveals the animal’s teeth. This piece marks an important stylistic shift from the more abstract depictions of lions of the preceding Northern Qi (550-577) and Sui (581-618) dynasties, and displays the vigorousness and boldness characteristic of Tang sculptures. The Tang dynasty saw an unprecedented flowering of the arts, resulting from political and military stability and a general openness to foreign trade. Lions were among the most prized tributary items presented to the Tang court by emissaries from the western regions of India and Central Asia. After receiving a lion as tribute from Samarkand in 635, Emperor Taizong (598-649) is recorded to have commissioned a poem in its honour from the court poet Yu Shinan (558-638). Lions were also sent from Samarkand, Khotan and as far as the Arabian Peninsula.

Compare a similar limestone figure of a lion, included in the Exhibition of Chinese and Japanese Sculptures and Paintings, National Museum, Stockholm, 1933, cat. no 108, and sold at Christie’s New York, 24th September 2020, lot 907, from the collection of James and Marilynn Alsdrof; and a larger example, from the collection of Arthur M. Sackler (1913-1987), sold at Christie’s New York, 1st December 1994, lot 164, and again in our Hong Kong rooms, 2nd April 2019, lot 3029.