A cover vessel with bird handles
Lot-No. 91
China, probably Northern Dynasties (ca. 6th/7th cent.). Ceramic with olive-green glaze. Bellied shape with flat domed cover. On both sides of the wall a sumptuous relief decoration of a lion’s head and mythical birds. Side handles also in the shape of birds. Exceptionally well preserved. H. 20,5 cm, diam. 27,5. - The result of QED Laboratoire, Aix-en-Provence, thermoluminescence test no. QED1208/FC-0301 is consistent with the dating of this lot. - The tone of the glaze and the sumptuosly moulded decoration is typical for ceramics of the Northern Dynasties. Compare the present piece to an elaborate stoneware vase with moulded decoration and ornaments in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (late 6th cent.). Concerning the ornamentation, this group of ceramics, to which the present piece also belongs, shows certain influences from Central Asia. It is believed that these motifs came to Northern China via the Silk Route. The overall shape and the plastical handles are clearly inspired by Zhou-period bronze vessels. - Lit.: Valenstein, Cultural Convergence in the Northern Qi Period, A Flamboyant Chinese Ceramic Container, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 2006. Siehe auch: Sullivan, The Arts of China, University of California 2008, S. 127-129.
A cover vessel with bird handles
A cover vessel with bird handles
Lot-No. 91
China, probably Northern Dynasties (ca. 6th/7th cent.). Ceramic with olive-green glaze. Bellied shape with flat domed cover. On both sides of the wall a sumptuous relief decoration of a lion’s head and mythical birds. Side handles also in the shape of birds. Exceptionally well preserved. H. 20,5 cm, diam. 27,5. - The result of QED Laboratoire, Aix-en-Provence, thermoluminescence test no. QED1208/FC-0301 is consistent with the dating of this lot. - The tone of the glaze and the sumptuosly moulded decoration is typical for ceramics of the Northern Dynasties. Compare the present piece to an elaborate stoneware vase with moulded decoration and ornaments in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (late 6th cent.). Concerning the ornamentation, this group of ceramics, to which the present piece also belongs, shows certain influences from Central Asia. It is believed that these motifs came to Northern China via the Silk Route. The overall shape and the plastical handles are clearly inspired by Zhou-period bronze vessels. - Lit.: Valenstein, Cultural Convergence in the Northern Qi Period, A Flamboyant Chinese Ceramic Container, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 2006. Siehe auch: Sullivan, The Arts of China, University of California 2008, S. 127-129.
