A pottery figure of a court lady


Tang Dynasty The plump figure standing with her head turned slightly to the side, the hands positioned within her long sleeves as if to hold an offering, clad in voluminous high-waisted robes defined by a long pleated skirt falling above the upturned slippers, the well-rounded face defined by delicate features beneath a shield-shaped coif surmounted by a crescent chignon, with traces of coloured pigments remaining. 33cm (13in) high.
|The Property of a Gentleman 紳士藏品唐 陶胎彩繪仕女俑Provenance: Bluett & Sons Ltd., LondonCarter Fine Art Ltd., London, 1996Jean-Yves Ollivier Collection來源：倫敦古董商Bluett & Sons Ltd.倫敦古董商Carters Fine Art Ltd.，1996年歐宗易先生珍藏This somewhat portly female figure represents the ideal of beauty during the Tang dynasty, which was often associated with Yang Guifei, one of China's great beauties and the influential concubine of the Tang emperor Xuangzong (r. 712–756). At this time, the ideal of voluptuousness was considered beautiful and greatly influenced the fashion for the plumper lady. A related pottery figure of a court lady, Tang dynasty, from the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in Diao Shi Ru Sheng: Gugong Cang Sui Tang Taoyong, Beijing, 2006, no.41, p.95. Another pottery figure, Tang dynasty, displaying a similar hair style as the present lot, is illustrated in the Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Exhibition of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka, 1982, p.21, no.4.A related but larger figure of a pottery lady displaying a similar hair style to the current example, was sold at Christie's New York, 21 March 2002, lot 100.The result of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test no.C118j29, dated 1 August 2018, is consistent with the dating of this lot.俑陶質加彩，侍女髮髻高聳垂於兩頰，鳳眼櫻唇，細鼻豐面，面敷桃紅彩，身披赭色衫及翠色巾，作合手側身貌。北京故宮博物院藏有一件相關的加彩陶侍女俑可作比較，見《雕飾如生─故宮藏隋唐陶俑》，北京，2006年，編號41，頁95；另可參考一件帶類似髮型的侍女俑，見大阪市立東洋陶瓷美術館，《東洋陶瓷展》，大阪，1982年，編號4，頁21；還可參考一件佳士得紐約2002年3月21日售出的侍女俑，帶相似髮飾，拍品100號。Oxford Authentication Ltd公司熱釋光檢測結果（2018年8月1日，編號C118j29）顯示年代與本拍品年代一致。