A very rare Chinese small sancai-glazed pottery figure of a woman and baby 珍罕仕女抱婴唐三彩 Tang dynasty ?

The standing figure of a lady, holding a baby in her arms, her round face and elaborate tall coiffure unglazed with finely painted traces of pigment; she wears a green and amber-splashed cloak over a chestnut robe with blue bodice and sleeves, all raised a short circular base, with an associated wood stand and custom Japanese wood box, together with a 1990 Hirano Kotoken catalogue, illustrating this piece on the dust jacket. Accompanied by an original Oxford Authentication thermoluminescence test result no. C199s56, dated June 9, 1999, stating the results are consistent with the suggested period of manufacture.

H: 6 5/8 in.

PROVENANCE:

S. Marchant & Son, London

Property from a private collection, Bethesda, Maryland, acquired from the above February, 24, 1999

EXHIBITED:

Tokyo, Hirano Kotoken, 1990, illustrated p. 35, no.16

NOTE:

Tang sancai-glazed figures of court ladies with children are extremely rare. For a larger scale (12 3/4" high) figure of a seated lady with child, with blue-splashed robes, see the example from the Jinguantang collection, sold at Christie's, New York, November 2, 1996, lot 600, where it is noted that she is unique among the subgroup of seated Tang dynasty sancai-glazed court ladies in holding a baby, whereas others hold flowers, ruyi scepters, birds or small animals. The miniature scale of the present lot is also exceptional, greatly adding to its charm and appeal.