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LOT 2076
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.
ProvenanceEx Hong Kong collection, 1990s.
LiteratureCf. 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).
FootnotesThe 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.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 2076
Large Chinese Song Soldier's Head with Helm
Estimate £120 - 170€140 - 200 (for guidance only)$160 - 230 (for guidance only)
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Sino-Tibetan Gilt Arya Tara Figure
19th-early 20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,300
Hollow-formed, sitting cross-legged flanked by uptala flowers, hands held in the mudra of instruction; black pigment to the hair and inset ruby-coloured gemstones to the headdress. 1.29 kg, 22 cm high
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. -
Ban Chiang Period Painted Vessel
Middle Period, 900-300 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £104
Globular jar with large flared mouth, decorated with dense series of hatched spiral motifs. 430 grams, 14 cm wide
From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000. From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent. -
Chinese Gilt Copper Crouching Camel
Song Dynasty, 960-1279 A.D. or earlierEstimate: £2,000 - 3,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,000
Modelled in the round with a double hump, neck gracefully resting against the back, and legs folded beneath the body. 164 grams, 56 mm
Acquired in the 1960s. From the collection of Mr Jay Gluck (1927-2000) & Mrs Sumi Hiramoto Gluck. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.12063-214191.
Camel-shaped water droppers would have been perfect not only for dispensing water onto the inkstone, but also because the humps could form as a brush rest too. The form of our artefact showcases the rapid cultural interaction and integration between China and Central Asia during the early dynasties of China. By the Tang Dynasty, China was one of the most cosmopolitan empires on earth with traders and missionaries from across Asia, Europe and Africa in the capital Chang'an. Depictions of two-humped Bactrian camels in pottery symbolised wealth, trade and international networks. The famous calligrapher and painter Qi Gong (1912-2005) owned a similar gilt-bronze camel paperweight, who according to his records purchased it in an antique shop in Japan. Qi Gong even renamed his studio 'The Little Bronze Camel Studio' (xiao tong luo guan’).
