Catalog (12)

A Tang Dynasty (618-907CE) moulded pottery figure of a sleeping duck. It is roughly made but the immediacy of the potter’s observation catches the life of the bird. Price: $260 USD; $340 CAD (HST of 13% will be applied on all sales in Canada). Height: 5 cm; width:5 cm. Condition: Intact and good with no repairs.

These Tang Dynasty (618-907CE) pottery figure groups were roughly moulded, but are full of vitality. This example has been cold painted with a white pigment over the grey low-fired pottery. Length: 14.6 cm; width: 7.9cm. Price: $400 USD; $530 CAD (HST of 13% will be applied to all sales in Canada). Condition: Intact and good with no repairs; typical wear to the pigment.

A Tang Dynasty (618-907CE) moulded pottery figure of a boar, which, as with all these figures, captures the immediacy of the animal’s presence. Height: 6cm; length: 13cm. Condition: Intact and good with no repairs. Price: $400 USD; $530 CAD (HST of 13% will be applied on all sales in Canada).

The ram is depicted at rest with its legs folded under its body. These animal figurines played an important part in Chinese burial practices. Very similar ram figurines, frequently with an early celadon yueyao glaze, are quite common in the Jin dynasties, a century or so later (there are nice examples in the New York Metropolitan Museum and the Shanghai Museum). This one appears to have been cold painted with a white slip, traces of which still remain. Length: 13.2 cm; width: 6.4 cm. Condi...

The Northern and Southern Dynasties (420 AD- 589 AD) are often considered the most chaotic period of time in Chinese history. However, the cultural diversification of Chinese and Non-Chinese (mainly Nomadic minorities from the north and the west) inspired the arts and cultural creations which influenced the whole of China (Zhongyuan), including the funeral industry. This tomb figure is of a typical foreigner servant or groom, standing with a distinguishing hat that only the non-Han people (Hu...

This is a good example of an utilitarian Tang Dynasty (618-907CE) jar that would have been used for storage. It is roughly but skillfully potted and the green glaze has gathered into a light blue drop that in other kilns might have been deliberately exploited so as to produce the sought-after suffused grey effect. Diameter: 5cm. Condition: Intact and good with no repairs; normal wear to the rim.

These ear cups - erbei - originally coated with a green lead glaze, have developed a very attractive iridescence over many years of burial. This form, used for drinking wine, was made in a variety of different materials in the eastern Han Dynasty (25-220CE), bronze, jade, glass, lacquer, and, of course, ceramics. These two cups are moulded on the exterior with a wave pattern and a saw tooth band below the rim, imitating the decoration on a bronze model. Length: 11 and 11.5 cm. Condition: One ...

This cylindrical granary stands on three feet decorated with a moulded bear motif, which are often found on such containers. In the Han Dynasty, people interred these granaries in graves to provide grain for the deceased. This one is made with fine grey pottery and decorated with three sets of horizontal incised bands. Dimension: H: 24.5cm Dia: 12.5cm Condition: very good, with an aged patina and traces of ancient root growth. No sign of damage or repair. Price: USD $350; CAD $455 (13% HS...

A small double handled pottery bowl. It dates to the Machang phase of the Majiayao culture from present day Gansu province, 2300-2000 BCE. The buff-coloured body is thin and delicate, decorated in geometric patterns in fired-on black, brown and purple mineral-based pigments. Height: 8 cm;Diameter: 12.8 cm. Condition: Fine and intact with no repairs. Minor wear to the pigments and along the rim. Price: USD $450; CAD $585 (13% HST will be applied on all sales in Canada)

A small hu-form jar with green and amber lead glaze. It dates to the Han dynasty, probably the Western Han (206BCE-9CE). These small jars are actually much less common than the larger ones, and it is rare to find them with two colours. Height: 12.4 cm; diameter: 9.4 cm. Condition: good and intact; normal wear and with the usual small chips to the glaze. Ex Anthony J. Allen. Price: USD $550; CAD $715 (13% HST will be applied on all sales in Canada)

This is a very nice example of a small Tang Dynasty (618-907CE) sancai pot for the scholar’s table at an affordable price. The glaze is finely crackled and has a slight iridescence. Diameter: 5cm. Condition: Intact and good with no repairs; normal wear for its age.

This very rare mug dates from the early period of production at the St. Ives pottery in the 1920s or early ’30s. In those years Leach was developing the designs for his later production and one can see in the body and the handle of this mug characteristics that became typical of the Standard Ware designs of the post-WWII period. It is covered with a thick, bubbly tenmoku glaze that is typical of the finish on most of the pots that Leach, Shoji Hamada and Michael Cardew produced in St.Ives at...