Large Chinese Song Soldier's Head with Helm

SUI DYNASTY, CIRCA 590-618 A.D. OR LATER

8 in. (918 grams total, 20.2 cm high including stand).

Unglazed model head of a soldier wearing a helmet with dommed crest, segmented bowl and lateral curtain; stylised facial features; hollow-formed, mounted on a custom-made stand.

Provenance

Ex Hong Kong collection, 1990s.

Literature

Cf. Ranitzsch, K.H., The Army of Tang China, Stockport, 1995, pl.6 fig. 29; Peers, C., Perry, M., Imperial Chinese Armies (2) 590-1260 AD, London, 1996, p.7, for similar warrior's heads (British Museum).

Footnotes

The headdress of late Sui and early Tang warriors was a black cloth (boutou) drawn over the head and elaborately tied into a sausage-like shape at the rear. For more formal wear this cloth cap, especially the free ends of the knot at the back, would be stiffly starched.

CONDITION

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LOT 2076