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拍品專文
The powerful, muscular body and ferocious expression of this remarkable lion sculpture are hallmarks of Tang sculptural vitality and naturalism. By the Tang dynasty, the lion had established its position as a commanding guardian figure and symbol of imperial prestige and power. The Tang emperors greatly expanded the borders of their realm, and through trade and tributary alliances, their sphere of influence was greater than any other previous dynasty. Lions were said to have been among the gifts of tribute to the Tang emperors, and their form was closely studied in both painting and sculpture.
It is very rare to find a such a large figure of a lion carved from puddingstone, a blanket term covering a wide variety of conglomerate stones made up of pebbles held together by sedimentary or siliceous rock. Historically, two types of puddingstone with different mineralogical make-up were used in a Chinese art context. The first type, as represented by the current figure, is a limestone conglomerate, thought to be locally sourced from various geographical origins within China, and which has a long-standing tradition in Chinese art lasting some 1,200 years. The other type is a quartz conglomerate which was imported to China starting in the early Qing dynasty and was used for small intimate objects such as thumb rings and snuff bottles.
For other Tang puddingstone figures of seated lions, but of smaller size, see the figure (24.1 cm.) dated to the Tang dynasty, 8th century, in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, illustrated by L. Roberts in Treasures from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1979, p. 39, no. 28, and the figure (20.5 cm.) from the Eumorfopoulos Collection, London, illustrated by L. Ashton in An Introduction to the Study of Chinese Sculpture, New York, 1924, pl. L. See, also, the smaller Tang puddingstone lion (14.3 cm.) from the collection of Herbert and Florence Irving sold at Christie’s New York, 21 March 2019, lot 1182, and the lion (11.6. cm.) from the collection of Mineo Hata sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 29 October 2024, lot 2012.
The current sculpture has a long and illustrious provenance, having been with the preeminent Chinese art dealer Yamanaka & Co., Osaka, and included in the firm’s 1926 exhibition Tōzai kotō kinseki tenkan (Grand Exhibition of Ancient Pottery, Bronzes and Stone Arts from the East and West) at the Osaka Bijutsu Club. (Fig. 1) Interestingly, Yamanaka & Co. handled another Tang puddingstone lion of virtually the same size as the current figure, which it sold in 1913 to Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), who bequeathed it upon his death to the Freer Gallery of Art, National Museum of Asian Art. (Fig. 2)
The current figure subsequently entered the collection of Hizaso Nagatani (1905-1994), who joined Yamanaka & Co. at the age of 17 and subsequently managed its Chicago branch on the Magnificent Mile until the firm ceased business operations in 1944. That same year he opened a new gallery on North Michigan Avenue in his own name, Nagatani & Co., cultivating over the following several decades an impressive roster of clients including Stephen Junkunc III, Robert Mayer, Avery Brundage, and James and Marilynn Alsdorf.
It is very rare to find a such a large figure of a lion carved from puddingstone, a blanket term covering a wide variety of conglomerate stones made up of pebbles held together by sedimentary or siliceous rock. Historically, two types of puddingstone with different mineralogical make-up were used in a Chinese art context. The first type, as represented by the current figure, is a limestone conglomerate, thought to be locally sourced from various geographical origins within China, and which has a long-standing tradition in Chinese art lasting some 1,200 years. The other type is a quartz conglomerate which was imported to China starting in the early Qing dynasty and was used for small intimate objects such as thumb rings and snuff bottles.
For other Tang puddingstone figures of seated lions, but of smaller size, see the figure (24.1 cm.) dated to the Tang dynasty, 8th century, in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, illustrated by L. Roberts in Treasures from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1979, p. 39, no. 28, and the figure (20.5 cm.) from the Eumorfopoulos Collection, London, illustrated by L. Ashton in An Introduction to the Study of Chinese Sculpture, New York, 1924, pl. L. See, also, the smaller Tang puddingstone lion (14.3 cm.) from the collection of Herbert and Florence Irving sold at Christie’s New York, 21 March 2019, lot 1182, and the lion (11.6. cm.) from the collection of Mineo Hata sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 29 October 2024, lot 2012.
The current sculpture has a long and illustrious provenance, having been with the preeminent Chinese art dealer Yamanaka & Co., Osaka, and included in the firm’s 1926 exhibition Tōzai kotō kinseki tenkan (Grand Exhibition of Ancient Pottery, Bronzes and Stone Arts from the East and West) at the Osaka Bijutsu Club. (Fig. 1) Interestingly, Yamanaka & Co. handled another Tang puddingstone lion of virtually the same size as the current figure, which it sold in 1913 to Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), who bequeathed it upon his death to the Freer Gallery of Art, National Museum of Asian Art. (Fig. 2)
The current figure subsequently entered the collection of Hizaso Nagatani (1905-1994), who joined Yamanaka & Co. at the age of 17 and subsequently managed its Chicago branch on the Magnificent Mile until the firm ceased business operations in 1944. That same year he opened a new gallery on North Michigan Avenue in his own name, Nagatani & Co., cultivating over the following several decades an impressive roster of clients including Stephen Junkunc III, Robert Mayer, Avery Brundage, and James and Marilynn Alsdorf.