This large pottery jar was made over 4,000 years ago during the Machang Phase (c. 2300 - 2000 BC) of the Majiayao culture, also known as the Gansu-Yangshao culture, from present day Gansu or Qinghai province. It is made from a pale yellowish-brown pottery. It is of quite an unusual form, a wide body with two sturdy loop handles, a tall narrow neck and a flared mouth...
This highly decorative set of pottery tiles was made during the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644). They are made from a dense, quiet highly-fired grey pottery and comprise three tiles, the left and right tiles being very elaborately decorated with lotus buds and blossoms in high relief, together with a central spacer tile...
This fine example of a painted pottery tripod, most likely a steamer, was made during the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC - AD 8). It is a large example of its type, made from a fine-grained grey pottery and relatively highly-fired, having a distinct ring when tapped. The body stands on three long curved legs that have been luted to the surface...
This very rare pottery model of a pack horse, or pony, was made during the Northern Wei Dynasty (AD 386 - 534). It is made from a grey pottery that has been "cold painted" with traces of red and white pigments remaining. Note the detail of the saddle bags and pack...
This unusual model of a horse & rider was made during the Tang Dynasty (AD 618 - 906). It is made from a creamy-white pottery that has been "cold painted" in various coloured pigments. Note the detail of the overweight rider's clothing and hairstyle.
Height 33.5cm (13 inches)...
This attractive pottery model of a horse and rider was made during the Tang Dynasty (AD 618 - 906). It is made from a buff-coloured pottery that has been "cold painted" in a base coat of white pigment on top of which have been applied various coloured pigments. The rider is a musician, a drummer, and is in the act of beating his drum...
This tall pottery figure was made during the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC - AD 8). It represents a male servant or attendant. It is "heavily-potted" and made from a grey pottery that has been "cold painted" in various coloured pigments, much of which still remain...
This very rare pottery model of a horse & rider was made during the Tang Dynasty (AD 618 - 906). The body of the horse, complete with the rider, has been made in a two-piece mould. the join running along the horse's neck and back and the sides of the rider. Note the detail of the rider, his clothing and his hands...
This rare pottery model of a granary was made some 2,000 years ago during the Han Dynasty (206 BC - AD 220). It is coated in a very attractive amber glaze that varies slightly in colour around the vessel. The unusual shoulder and top presumably represent a two-tier tiled roof. It has its original cover with moulded floral pattern and two purpose-made holes...
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We have recently been lucky enough to have acquired a collection of very rare examples of burnished black pottery items made during the Yuan Dynasty (AD 1279 - 1368). Such items are relatively unknown and very little has been published about them. They are found in the northern provinces, particularly Gansu province in the north-west.
A black pottery censer; it is quite heavily-potted with a wide flat rim and three legs. It has a burn...
This impressive and detailed pottery model of a horse and rider was made during the Ming Dynasty (AD 1368 - 1644). It has been coated in green, amber and black glazes. The rider's head has been made separately and has been "cold-painted" in black and white pigments: the head fits into a slot in the neck of the rider. Note the detail to the rider's clothing, the various fittings and especially the horse's mane. This horse comes complete with its own c...
This bronze ding was made during the Han Dynasty (206 BC - AD 220). Its form, that of a three-legged covered cooking vessel, is well-known amongst Han Dynasty bronzes. However, most examples are larger; this is a rare small example. The body stands on three legs that are in the form of bears. On either side of the vessel are square handles. The round cover is surmounted by three decorative animal-head handles, designed so that it can be ...
A rare opportunity to acquire a Northern Song Dynasty (AD 960 - 1127) kiln saggar still containing its Qingbai porcelain bowl, excavated from a kiln site in the Jingdezhen area of Jiangxi province.
Northern Song Dynasty Qingbai porcelain was fired individually in saggars (the fireproof clay case) that were stacked on top of each other in the kiln. Firing in kilns was then, of course, not the exact science tha...
This extremely rare and unusual jar was made during the Yuan Dynasty (1279 - 1368). It has a splayed foot and is quite "heavily-potted" with the whole of the outer body profusely decorated with what are most likely religious (Buddhist) motifs. The lower body is covered in repeated carved lotus leaves. Around the waist is a band of "pie crust" decoration on top of which stand twelve human-like figures, the bodies moulde...
This rare decorated glazed bowl was made around AD 826, during the Tang Dynasty (AD 618 - 906) at the Changsha kilns. We can be that precise about the dating because it was excavated from the "Belitung Wreck" in 1998-99, a mile off the coast of Belitung, Indonesia. Another bowl from that wreck is inscribed with a date equivalent to AD 826 and carbon 14 analysis of the wreck also confirms an early 9th century date. Al...
