A LARGE GREY POTTERY FIGURE OF A TORTOISE, HAN DYNASTY

Scientific Analysis Report:
A thermoluminescence analysis report issued by Oxford Authentication on 24 April 2006, based on sample number C106j27, sets the firing date of three samples taken between 1500 and 2400 years ago. A copy of the report, signed by Doreen Stoneham for Oxford Authentication, accompanies this lot.

China, 206 BC-220 AD. Heavily potted, the large tortoise stands with its head slightly raised. The boldly modeled face with round bulging eyes and thick lips, the carapace lined with an elegantly curved outer ridge and applied at the top with a row of bosses.


Provenance:
Guus Röell, Fine Arts & Antiques Maastricht, Netherlands, c. 2006. A European private collection, acquired from the above. Guus Röell is an expert in the field of colonial antiques and rare artifacts from across the world, including Chinese works of art. An impressive art connoisseur, Röell curates his gallery with an exquisite taste for unique craftsmanship and historical contexts.

Condition:
Very good condition, commensurate with age. Extensive wear, signs of weathering and erosion, minor losses, encrustations, firing cracks, drilled holes from sample-taking. Possibly with old fills and repairs, as expected from ancient Han dynasty excavations.

Weight: 11.9 kg
Dimensions: Length 61.2 cm


Literature comparison

Compare a related pottery tortoise, 11.7 cm long, dated to the Han dynasty, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 68.149.2.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Closely related
Auction: Sotheby’s New York, 19 March 2019, lot 143
Price: USD 20,000 or approx.
EUR 22,000
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A pottery tortoise-form ink stone and cover, Eastern Han dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the related subject, pottery, and modeling with similar pose. Note the much smaller size (20.3 cm).




漢代大型灰陶烏龜


中國，西元前 206 年至西元 220 年。 巨大的陶龜，微微抬頭。 臉部造型生動，圓凸的眼睛和厚厚的嘴唇，甲殼上可辯脊梁，一排凸起的甲片。


科學檢測報告：
牛津認證公司於2006年4月24日出具一份熱釋光分析報告，樣本編號為C106j27，確定三個樣本的製作日期在1500至2400年前之間。 隨附一份由Doreen Stoneham 簽署的牛津認證報告副本。


來源：
Guus Röell，荷蘭馬斯特里赫特美術與古董店，約在 2006年；歐洲私人收藏，購自上述藝廊。Guus Röell 是殖民時期古董和稀有文物（包括中國藝術品）領域的專家。他以對獨特工藝和歷史背景的出色品味來策劃他的畫廊。

品相：
狀況非常好，大面積磨損、風化和侵蝕跡象、輕微缺損、結殼、燒製裂紋、取樣造成的鑽孔。可能有填充和修復。

重量：11.9 公斤
尺寸：長61.2 厘米


文獻比較：

比較一件相近的漢代陶龜，長11.7 釐米，收藏於大都會藝術博物館，館藏編號68.149.2。


拍賣結果比較：

形制：非常相近
拍賣：紐約蘇富比，2019年3月19日，lot 143
價格：USD 20,000（相當於今日
EUR 22,000
）
描述：東漢灰陶龜形硯連蓋
專家評論：比較相近的主題、陶製和相似的姿勢。請注意此為一個硯台。請注意尺寸小許多 (20.3 厘米)。