A PAINTED POTTERY FIGURE OF A FEMALE DRUMMER, TANG DYNASTY
A PAINTED POTTERY FIGURE OF A FEMALE DRUMMER, TANG DYNASTY
This lot is from a single owner collection and is therefore offered without reserve
Exhibited: Exhibition of Chinese Art, City Art Gallery, Manchester, April-June 1936.
Expert's note: The Exhibition of Chinese Art at the Manchester City Art Gallery in 1936 followed the famous 1935-1936 International Exhibition held by the Royal Academy at Burlington House, London, and consisted of some of the exhibits lent to the exhibition at Burlington House by British collectors including Sir Percival David, George Eumorfopoulos, and Oscar Raphael, together with specimens from collections in Lancashire and Cheshire. The present lot retains remnants of the exhibition label, which after close examination looks to be genuine. For another example of a label from the 1936 Manchester Exhibition, see a Ming pottery figure illustrated by Robert McPherson on his website, stock number 23208.
China, 618-906. Well modeled standing gracefully and playing a simple drum held in her left hand, dressed in low-bodiced robes tied at the waist, that fall to the tops of the upturned tips of her shoes, her round face with delicate features beneath her hair pulled up into a tall coiffure.
Provenance: A private collection in the United Kingdom, acquired before 1936 and thence by descent. Grays Antique Market, London. Jorgen Ruben, acquired from the above. The base with remnants of the
1936 Manchester Exhibition label, typed '[Ch]inese Exh[ibition]. [Man]chester, 1936' and inscribed [Art G]al[le]ry 65[…]'. The back with a label printed with an inventory number, '80'.
Jorgen Ruben is a Danish art dealer and collector who has been active for over four decades and is highly regarded in the fields of Asian art and classical antiquities. Raised in an art-conscious family, Ruben was exposed early to both modern painting and European decorative arts. He began working in the art trade in the mid-1970s, first with Persian rugs and later with antiques, while travels to Iran and a visit to Persepolis sparked his lasting interest in antiquity. After studies in Copenhagen and London, he worked in England with a dealer in early furniture, before travelling widely in Latin America and Asia, deepening his knowledge of regional art and culture. In 1984 Ruben opened a gallery in Copenhagen dealing in Asian antiquities. He was later active in London and, in the early 2000s, operated the Brussels gallery Classic Art. Much of his career, however, has been conducted privately from home, selling by appointment to collectors, galleries, and museums. Ruben has always bought selectively, choosing only works that deeply engaged him, and often keeping them for many years until placing them with a collector he felt truly understood them.
Important Note: For essential information on the
Jorgen Ruben Gallery Ledger and provenance documentation please visit here: www.zacke.at/rubencollection_ledger
Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Expected wear, firing irregularities, signs of prolonged burial, encrustations, few minor chips, minuscule losses, old repairs and fills condition with expected wear commensurate with age. Extensive wear, tiny losses, firing flaws, few chips, losses to pigments, old repairs and fills, all as expected from authentic Tang dynasty excavations.
Weight: 679 g
Dimensions: Height 28.3 cm
Literature comparison:
Compare a related pottery figure of a female attendant, dated mid-7th century, 29.8 cm tall, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, object number 2015.500.7.4. Compare a related painted and gilded pottery figure of a lady, dated Tang dynasty,55.6 cm tall, in the Shanghai Museum, reference number CI00053236. Compare a related pottery figure of a female drummer, dated to the Tang dynasty, in the Aurora Museum, Shanghai.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Christie's New York, 18 March 2016, lot 1484
Price: USD 8,750 or approx.
EUR 10,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A large painted pottery figure of a court lady, Tang dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the similar subject and modeling. Note the size (38 cm).
Buyer's Premium
30%
A PAINTED POTTERY FIGURE OF A FEMALE DRUMMER, TANG DYNASTY
This lot is from a single owner collection and is therefore offered without reserve
Exhibited: Exhibition of Chinese Art, City Art Gallery, Manchester, April-June 1936.
Expert's note: The Exhibition of Chinese Art at the Manchester City Art Gallery in 1936 followed the famous 1935-1936 International Exhibition held by the Royal Academy at Burlington House, London, and consisted of some of the exhibits lent to the exhibition at Burlington House by British collectors including Sir Percival David, George Eumorfopoulos, and Oscar Raphael, together with specimens from collections in Lancashire and Cheshire. The present lot retains remnants of the exhibition label, which after close examination looks to be genuine. For another example of a label from the 1936 Manchester Exhibition, see a Ming pottery figure illustrated by Robert McPherson on his website, stock number 23208.
China, 618-906. Well modeled standing gracefully and playing a simple drum held in her left hand, dressed in low-bodiced robes tied at the waist, that fall to the tops of the upturned tips of her shoes, her round face with delicate features beneath her hair pulled up into a tall coiffure.
Provenance: A private collection in the United Kingdom, acquired before 1936 and thence by descent. Grays Antique Market, London. Jorgen Ruben, acquired from the above. The base with remnants of the
1936 Manchester Exhibition label, typed '[Ch]inese Exh[ibition]. [Man]chester, 1936' and inscribed [Art G]al[le]ry 65[…]'. The back with a label printed with an inventory number, '80'.
Jorgen Ruben is a Danish art dealer and collector who has been active for over four decades and is highly regarded in the fields of Asian art and classical antiquities. Raised in an art-conscious family, Ruben was exposed early to both modern painting and European decorative arts. He began working in the art trade in the mid-1970s, first with Persian rugs and later with antiques, while travels to Iran and a visit to Persepolis sparked his lasting interest in antiquity. After studies in Copenhagen and London, he worked in England with a dealer in early furniture, before travelling widely in Latin America and Asia, deepening his knowledge of regional art and culture. In 1984 Ruben opened a gallery in Copenhagen dealing in Asian antiquities. He was later active in London and, in the early 2000s, operated the Brussels gallery Classic Art. Much of his career, however, has been conducted privately from home, selling by appointment to collectors, galleries, and museums. Ruben has always bought selectively, choosing only works that deeply engaged him, and often keeping them for many years until placing them with a collector he felt truly understood them.
Important Note: For essential information on the
Jorgen Ruben Gallery Ledger and provenance documentation please visit here: www.zacke.at/rubencollection_ledger
Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Expected wear, firing irregularities, signs of prolonged burial, encrustations, few minor chips, minuscule losses, old repairs and fills condition with expected wear commensurate with age. Extensive wear, tiny losses, firing flaws, few chips, losses to pigments, old repairs and fills, all as expected from authentic Tang dynasty excavations.
Weight: 679 g
Dimensions: Height 28.3 cm
Literature comparison:
Compare a related pottery figure of a female attendant, dated mid-7th century, 29.8 cm tall, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, object number 2015.500.7.4. Compare a related painted and gilded pottery figure of a lady, dated Tang dynasty,55.6 cm tall, in the Shanghai Museum, reference number CI00053236. Compare a related pottery figure of a female drummer, dated to the Tang dynasty, in the Aurora Museum, Shanghai.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Christie's New York, 18 March 2016, lot 1484
Price: USD 8,750 or approx.
EUR 10,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A large painted pottery figure of a court lady, Tang dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the similar subject and modeling. Note the size (38 cm).
Buyer's Premium
30%
