This fine and impressive pottery jar (hu) was made during the Han Dynasty (206 BC - AD 220). It is made from a fairly high-fired reddish pottery and coated in a particularly attractive glossy thick streaky green and finely-crackled glaze, the colour of which varies according to its thickness. Interestingly, the drips of glaze to the mouth rim and the pooling of glaze to the flat base show that this jar was fired upsid...
This very rare pottery model of a bird, either a duck or a goose, was made during the Warring States period (475 - 221 BC). It is "heavily-potted" and made from quite a high-fired grey pottery. The duck stands with its neck and wings stretched, as if in the act of preparing to fly. Note the detail, especially to the wings, with the tiger heads. The style and decoration suggest this model was based on a bronze example. On the...
This large and impressive pottery jar was made by peoples of the Caiyuan Culture (c. 2600 - 2200 BC) and has been excavated from the Ningxia Autonomous Region in the north of China. It is quite "heavily-potted" and has been fired to a very pleasing pale yellowish-brown with the surface colour becoming more red in places. The upper surface has been burnished and is very smooth to the touch. The lower surface has been simply yet ...
This impressive pottery model of a Bactrian camel was made during the Tang Dynasty (AD 618 - 906). It is made from a pale buff-coloured pottery, has good detail and has been "cold painted" in a base coat of a creamy-white pigment with details picked out in brown, red and black pigments. The camel stands upright and alert with its head held high and turned a little to its left. Its two humps are particularly prominent.
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This large and imposing pottery jar, of "hu" form, was made during the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC - AD 8). It is made from grey pottery and has a particularly wide body, the neck flaring out into a wide mouth. Unusually, it comes complete with its original cover.
The surface has been thickly cold-painted with a creamy-white pigment on top of which are swirls and geometric patterns in yellow-ochr...
This fine and impressive matching pair of pottery lokapala figures was made during the Tang Dynasty (AD 618 - 906). They are "heavily-potted" and made from a reddish pottery that have been "cold painted" in various coloured pigments. On the surface in places there still remain traces of gold leaf. Note the exquisite detail of their clothing and hairstyle. They have clenched fists with ferocious facia...
This undeniably impressive pottery figure of a guardian was made during the Tang Dynasty (AD 618 - 906). It is made from a fairly high-fired creamy-white pottery with traces of yellow, red and black "cold painted" pigments to the surface. He stands upon a rock, head turned slightly, with his hands out. Note the clothing and head gear: an armoured jacket secured with straps over his shoulder and a belt at he ...
This unusually large and impressive pottery model of a Bactrian camel was made during the Tang Dynasty (AD 618 - 906). It is heavily-potted and made from a fairly high-fired buff-coloured pottery. In places on the surface are firing cracks, likely due to the thickness of the pottery. The surface has been cold-painted in a yellow-ochre coloured pigment on top of which have been painted reddish-brown and black pigments for th...
These impressive and attractive pottery models of a horse and groom were made during the Yuan Dynasty (AD 1279 - 1368). Such figures from the Yuan Dynasty are very distinctive and are particularly rare and desirable. The surface of these figures is typically fired to grey, or almost black, and sometimes, as in this case, burnished to a smooth finish.
The horse is laden with a pack on its back, on t...
This extremely rare and imposing pottery jar dates to the around the 1st millennium BC, the late Chinese Neolithic / Bronze Age period. It is, without doubt, the largest and most substantial pottery jar we have ever encountered from this period. It has a rounded base and the whole of the outer surface has been decorated with repeated coarsely-woven cord impressions. Interestingly the inner surface be...
This fine and rare pottery model of a foreigner was made during the Tang Dynasty (AD 618 - 906). It is made from a red pottery that has been cold-painted in a thick white pigment with the facial details picked out in red and black pigments. This elegant figure, a groom, stands with his shoulders raised, head raised and turned to his right, one hand outstretched. Note the detail of the clothing, the headgear and especiall...
These interesting pottery tiles with the subjects depicted in high relief with very good detail were made during the Yuan Dynasty (AD 1279 - 1368) or possibly the early part of the following Ming Dynasty (AD 1368 - 1644). They are made from a high-fired grey pottery that has been "cold painted" in various coloured pigments. Each tile depicts a scene from a story of the paragons of filial piet...
These interesting pottery tiles with the subjects depicted in high relief were made during the Jin Dynasty (AD 1115 - 1234). They are made from quite a high-fired grey pottery that has been "cold painted" in various coloured pigments. Each tile depicts a scene from a story of the paragons of filial piety. Together they depict a total of thirty-four human figures (men, women and children)...
This exceptional pair of pottery horses was made during the early Tang Dynasty (AD 618 - 906). They are finely-modelled and "full of life", both in the act of walking. One has its right leg forward with head turned to its left, the other has its left leg forward with its head turned a little to its right. Each has a separately-made rider seated on a saddle, one male, one female, tha...
This fine and impressive pottery model of a horse was made during the early Tang Dynasty (AD 618 - 906). It is "heavily-potted" and made from a buff-coloured pottery that has been cold-painted in a creamy-white pigment with small amounts of red pigment in places, such as within the nostrils. On its back is a large saddle, made separately, that can be removed. This is a strong horse giving an impressio...
This impressive and imposing pair of pottery figures was made during the early Tang Dynasty (AD 618 - 906). They are "heavily-potted" and made from a fine-grained pale grey pottery. They have been "cold-painted" in a base coat of creamy-white pigment with faint traces of red and black pigments in places.
These figures represent a pair of foreign grooms and have been made with great attention to de...
This impressive and imposing pair of pottery figures was made during the early Tang Dynasty (AD 618 - 906). They are "heavily-potted" and made from a fairly high-fired pale greyish-brown pottery. They have been "cold-painted" in a base coat of creamy-white pigment with details picked out on top in red and black pigments, especially to the heads and faces.
These figures represent a pair of foreign ...
One of the most desirable and collectable form of pottery sculpture from ancient China is, of course, the female courtier, or "fat lady", from the Tang Dynasty (AD 618 - 906). This exceptional example, with a height of 43 cm, is considerably larger than most known Tang dynasty "fat ladies". She wears a voluminous robe with long sleeves, her right hand raised and held across her stomach, her feet protruding from the hem...
This tall and impressive pottery "stick" figure was made during the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC - AD 8), more specifically, the 2nd century BC. It is "heavily-potted" and made from a dense fine-grained pale grey pottery. It has been "cold painted" with a pink/brown flesh-coloured pigment. Note the detail of the facial features and the hairstyle, worn with a top knot.
Various types of "stick" figures have b...
This large and attractive pottery jar was made during the Warring States period (475 - 221 BC). It is made from quite a high-fired pale grey pottery the colour of which has fired to a pale pinkish-brown in places. It has an unusual wide mouth with a flat rim. The whole outer surface has been decorated with repeated impressed geometric patterns comprising, at the top of each impression, two horizontal lines ...
This exceptionally large and impressive pottery jar was made during the Warring States period (475 - 221 BC). It is made from a fine-grained grey pottery, relatively highly-fired, having a distinct ring to it when tapped. It has a wide mouth with a thick rolled rim. It is decorated simply, yet effectively, with raised bands surrounding the body just above its waist. Just above the concave base is a small purpose-ma...
This large and impressive pottery jar was made during the Warring States period (475 - 221 BC). It is made from a fine-grained grey pottery and has a smooth surface with bands of lightly incised/burnished lines surrounding the shoulder and the upper body. Around its middle are two bands of impressed decoration. Unusually, the whole of the outer surface has been cold painted with a thick white pigment that...
This large pottery model of an ox, or bull, was made during the Han Dynasty (206 BC - AD 220). It is made from a relatively high-fired grey pottery which has made it much more durable than lower-fired examples.
Length 36 cm (14 inches), height 21 cm (8.25 inches). It is in outstanding condition; although one horn appears to have been broken and re-stuck, there is no obvious sign of any other restoration or repa...
This large and impressive pottery jar of exceptional form was made during the Five Dynasties period (AD 907 - 960) or possible the early part of the Song Dynasty (AD 960 - 1279). It is a wide-bodied jar with sturdy handles and quite a small flat base, an unusual form for this period. Its form is reminiscent of some Han Dynasty pottery jars of around a thousand years earlier, although this jar is much more "...
This fine and incredibly ancient pottery vessel was made over 6,000 years ago during the Banpo phase (c. 4800 - 4300 BC) of the Yangshao culture in present-day Shaanxi province. This form is probably the most well-known of Banpo pottery, if not of all Chinese Neolithic pottery, and no serious collection of Chinese ceramics should be without an example!
It has a tall cup-shaped mouth and a pointed base....
GBP £3,500.00
This fine and impressive matching pair of male and female figures was made during the Tang Dynasty (AD 618 - 906). They are made from a buff-coloured pottery that has been "cold painted" in coloured pigments. They are similarly dressed in long-sleeved robes. Note also the upturned footwear and the distinctive headdresses and hairstyles.
As with many of our finer items, we have had both o...
These fine pair of pottery figures, one male, one female, was made during the Tang Dynasty (AD 618 - 906). They are made from quite a high-fired creamy-coloured pottery. They are very finely modelled: note the detail of the clothing, hairstyle and facial features. The figures stand side by side, upright, in respectful poses each with their hands held together across their stomachs. Traces of the original various di...
This impressive pottery model of a warrior was made over 2,000 years ago during the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC - AD 8); as can be seen by the quiver on its back, this figure is that of an archer. It is made from a relatively high-fired dark grey pottery that has been "cold painted" in a base coat of white pigment with the features and details picked out in red and black pigments. Originally this fi...
This fine and interesting pottery vessel was made over 3,000 years ago during the Chinese Neolithic or early Bronze Age. The form is of a cooking vessel and the three wide udder-shaped legs allow it to be stood in a fire with as much heat as possible being transmitted to its contents. It is not always easy to determine exactly which culture such vessels come from as similar vessels were made by various Chinese cultures. However, we un...
This unusually large and imposing pottery jar, or "hu" was made during the Han Dynasty (206 BC - AD 220). It is made from a fine-grained grey pottery that is relatively highly-fired. This is an exceptional example of its type of fine form with its wide body and tall neck that flares inwards and then out again to the wide mouth. It has a pleasingly smooth burnished surface that in many places has a silver...
This fine pottery model of a camel, laden with saddle bags, was made during the early Tang Dynasty (AD 618 - 906) or possibly a little earlier. It is made from a buff-coloured pottery that has been "cold painted" in a white pigment. The camel stands upright and alert with its mouth open and its head turned to its left. On its back is a set of saddle bags that include a blanket, ducks and what appears to be a rabbit.
Thi...
This very rare large and impressive pottery jar was made during the Warring States period (475 - 221 BC). It is made from a hard high-fired pottery. The body widens as it goes up from the base to a horizontal shoulder and then into quite a wide but short neck with a flared mouth. The body is covered with repeated impressed geometric patterns, a smaller design to the upper body and a larger design to th...
This wonderfully-shaped pottery jar was made during the early part of the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC - AD 8) or possibly as early as the Qin Dynasty (221 - 206 BC). This type of jar is often referred to as a "cocoon jar" due to the shape of its body. The shape, named after its similarity to the silkworm cocoon, evolved during the late Warring States period (475 - 221 BC) and then generally died out...
This fine and elegant 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 various coloured pigments. The horse stands alert with its head turned a little to its left. The riders sits upright with his arms outstretched.
This is quite large example with a height of 38.5 cm (15 inches). It is in very good con...
This extremely rare pottery model of a saddled horse was made during the Northern Dynasties period (AD 386 - 581). It is rather naively modelled from a dense grey pottery that is fairly high-fired. The body has been cold-painted in reddish-brown, black and white pigments whilst the upper surface of the base is painted white.
Height 28 cm, length 26 cm. It is in very good condition and any possible repairs hav...
GBP £950.00
This large and extremely rare pottery jar was made by peoples of the Neolithic Xindian culture (c. 1200 - 500 BC). The Xindian culture is a relatively late Neolithic culture and overlaps with the Chinese Bronze Age. This jar is of the Tangwang type and is not quite as coarse in its construction as some other Xindian vessels. It is quite "heavily-potted" with two loop handles on opposing sides ...
GBP £1,350.00
Arguably the most desirable pottery sculpture from the Tang Dynasty is the female courtier, or "fat lady". This figure was made around the mid 8th century and is a particularly elegant example. The lady stands with her hands clasped together under her flowing robe and her head turned a little to the left. Note also the elaborate hairstyle. It is relatively highly-fired and made from a bu...
This fine-quality pottery vessel, complete with its original cover, was made during the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC - AD 8). It is made from a fine-grained grey pottery and quite highly-fired, both vessel and cover each having a distinct ring when tapped. This vessel, a ding, has sturdy square-cut handles and stands on three feet. The cover has a raised circular band on its top allowing it to be turned upside-down and u...
This large and impressive pottery model of what we assume to be a farm house was made during the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 25 - 220). It is made from a pinkish-coloured pottery, the surface of which has fired to a pale grey colour. It has a large gabled roof with deep grooves and horizontal incised lines to represent tiles. The ridge along the top has been incised to show three rows of ridge tiles. On the upper surface of...
This impressive pottery horse and rider was made during the Tang Dynasty (AD 618 - 906). It is made from a buff-coloured pottery and is quite "heavily-potted". It has been cold-painted in various coloured pigments, good traces of which still remain. The horse stands upright and alert with its head and neck turned very slightly to its left. The rider, with his body turned to the left, has his arms raised as though ho...