A LARGE SANCAI GLAZED GUARDIAN FIGURE


Tang dynastyStanding with his raised right hand clenched to hold a now vanished weapon and his left hand raised to ward off intruders, reinforced by a fearsome visage to his unglazed head while his armor and trailing garments, boots and pierced rockery base are splashed or brushed with green, amber and straw colored glazes.40 3/4in (103.5cm) high
|Burial figures of such large size were manufactured for tombs belonging to the upper echelons of Tang society. First discovered in the opening years of the 20th century, these figures have continued to be excavated. See, for example the sancai glazed pottery warrior figure, unearthed in the eastern suburbs of Xi'an in 1984, published in The Gems of Cultural Relics Compiled by the Shaanxi Provincial Museum (Shaanxi lu you chu ban she, 1992), p. 94 (86.7cm high); and a civil official in sancai glaze excavated from Guanlin in the city of Loyang, Henan, published in the exhibition, Imperial Tombs of China (Memphis, 1995), p. 113 (107cm high).A sancai glazed guardian figure from the Springfield Museums, Springfield Massachusetts, virtually identical to this lot, was sold in Christies, New York, 21-22 March 2013, lot 1162 (42in/106.7cm high). See also the sancai glazed standing dignitary of equally impressive size sold in Bonhams, San Francisco, 24 June 2013, lot 1172 (47 1/2in/120.5cm high).