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A LARGE CHINESE POTTERY FIGURE OF A GROOMING COURT LADY, TANG DYNASTY (618 - 906)
this elegant plump beauty standing slightly swayed, in flowing robes, falling to the tips of her elaborate cloud-toed shoes, as she attends to her toilette, gazing appreciatively into a mirror that she holds in one hand, with her other hand raised as if to fix her already immaculate coiffure with the other, her rouged cheeks, arched 'moth-like' eyebrows, and cherry lips are all consistent with the high fashion of the day, the present pottery figure is especially fine for its graceful and elegant modelling and quite rare for its larger size.
As with other pottery court ladies of this type, this plump beauty, was modelled on the 'ideal' of the day, and is a reflection of the fashion of the court during the middle of the 8th Century beginning in the reign of Xuanzong, due largely to the physical attributes of the infamous and romantic Imperial Concubine Yang Guifei (719-756), who the Emperor fell in love with after he saw her emerge from the hotspring baths in a transparent gauze robe and whose beauty was considered so great, she was responsible for toppling an empire.
Please compare to a similar, though much smaller example of a Tang Dynasty Grooming Lady sold at Sotheby's, New York, 21 September 2005, New York, Lot 257. In its style it can also be compared to a group of painted pottery figures of plump ladies; See also a pair of pottery figures sold Sotheby's, New York, 20 March 2002, lot 65. As well as the figures excavated from a tomb at Hansenzhai, Xi'an, Shaanxi province, three of which are illustrated in Treasures of a Nation, Beijing, 1999, pp. 212, 213 and 219; five others were included in the exhibition The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., 1999, Cat. no. 173.
The dating of this lot is consistent with the result of the German Laboratory Ralf Kotalla thermoluminescence test no. 11G220414.
85cm high
this elegant plump beauty standing slightly swayed, in flowing robes, falling to the tips of her elaborate cloud-toed shoes, as she attends to her toilette, gazing appreciatively into a mirror that she holds in one hand, with her other hand raised as if to fix her already immaculate coiffure with the other, her rouged cheeks, arched 'moth-like' eyebrows, and cherry lips are all consistent with the high fashion of the day, the present pottery figure is especially fine for its graceful and elegant modelling and quite rare for its larger size.
As with other pottery court ladies of this type, this plump beauty, was modelled on the 'ideal' of the day, and is a reflection of the fashion of the court during the middle of the 8th Century beginning in the reign of Xuanzong, due largely to the physical attributes of the infamous and romantic Imperial Concubine Yang Guifei (719-756), who the Emperor fell in love with after he saw her emerge from the hotspring baths in a transparent gauze robe and whose beauty was considered so great, she was responsible for toppling an empire.
Please compare to a similar, though much smaller example of a Tang Dynasty Grooming Lady sold at Sotheby's, New York, 21 September 2005, New York, Lot 257. In its style it can also be compared to a group of painted pottery figures of plump ladies; See also a pair of pottery figures sold Sotheby's, New York, 20 March 2002, lot 65. As well as the figures excavated from a tomb at Hansenzhai, Xi'an, Shaanxi province, three of which are illustrated in Treasures of a Nation, Beijing, 1999, pp. 212, 213 and 219; five others were included in the exhibition The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., 1999, Cat. no. 173.
The dating of this lot is consistent with the result of the German Laboratory Ralf Kotalla thermoluminescence test no. 11G220414.
85cm high
Estimate $20,000 - $30,000
Leonard Joel, Melbourne: The Graham Geddes Collection: 20/3/2016, lot 389.
Important Chinese & Asian Art
AUCTION
Sale: LJ8825
11:00am - 25 October 2026
Hawthorn
VIEWING
Thurs 22 - Sat 24 October, 11am - 5pm
2 Oxley Rd, Hawthorn VIC
CONTACT
Luke Guan
luke.guan@leonardjoel.com.au
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