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Lot Essay
The lion, often celebrated as the king of beasts, is native to India and Central Asia, and is believed to have been first presented as tribute to China in the late Western Han dynasty. The Hanshu (Book of Han) records: 'During the reigns of Emperors Wen and Jing, the empire enjoyed peace for five generations... Upon hearing of celestial horses and grapes, they opened relations with Dayuan and Anxi. Thereafter... elephants, lions, fierce dogs, and great birds were kept in the outer parks—exotic creatures from distant lands, arriving from all directions.' Endowed with potent exoticism, lions ranked among the most highly prized tribute items presented during the Tang dynasty at the capital of Chang'an. After receiving a lion from Samarkand in 635, Taizong (598–649) commissioned the court poet Yu Shinan (558–638) to compose a poem in its honour. Other embassies during the golden age of Tang rule are recorded as presenting lions—from Samarkand, Khotan, and Arabia.
Like the elephant, the lion evoked associations with India and Buddhism; its roar served as a metaphor for the voice of the Buddha spreading the Dharma. In Tang art, the bodhisattva Manjushri is frequently depicted riding a lion. Fundamentally, however, the lion was revered at court for its formidable protective power, its role as guardian, and its emblematic authority.
Large stone lions are found at the imperial Tang tombs, where they were placed in pairs as ferocious guardians. For smaller Tang sculptures of lions, compare an individual lion from the collection of Alice Boney, included in the exhibition The Arts of the T’ang Dynasty. A Loan Exhibition Organised by the Los Angeles County Museum from Collections in America, The Orient and Europe, Los Angeles County Museum, Los Angeles, 1957, cat. no. 43.
The present pair of stone lions, powerful and robust yet executed with refined modelling, represents the pinnacle of early Tang sculptural tradition. Their posture is exceptionally rare: one lion is shown reclining with a hind leg raised to scratch its mane, while the other is depicted biting its foreleg. This unusual posture appears to be unique among stone examples, but may be found among the finest sancai pottery lions of the period—compare a Tang sancai lion in the Seikado Bunko Art Museum, Tokyo, illustrated by Masahiko Sato and Gakuji Hasebe (eds.), Sekai Toji Zenshu (Ceramic Art of the World), vol. 11, Tokyo, 1976, no. 66–67.
Like the elephant, the lion evoked associations with India and Buddhism; its roar served as a metaphor for the voice of the Buddha spreading the Dharma. In Tang art, the bodhisattva Manjushri is frequently depicted riding a lion. Fundamentally, however, the lion was revered at court for its formidable protective power, its role as guardian, and its emblematic authority.
Large stone lions are found at the imperial Tang tombs, where they were placed in pairs as ferocious guardians. For smaller Tang sculptures of lions, compare an individual lion from the collection of Alice Boney, included in the exhibition The Arts of the T’ang Dynasty. A Loan Exhibition Organised by the Los Angeles County Museum from Collections in America, The Orient and Europe, Los Angeles County Museum, Los Angeles, 1957, cat. no. 43.
The present pair of stone lions, powerful and robust yet executed with refined modelling, represents the pinnacle of early Tang sculptural tradition. Their posture is exceptionally rare: one lion is shown reclining with a hind leg raised to scratch its mane, while the other is depicted biting its foreleg. This unusual posture appears to be unique among stone examples, but may be found among the finest sancai pottery lions of the period—compare a Tang sancai lion in the Seikado Bunko Art Museum, Tokyo, illustrated by Masahiko Sato and Gakuji Hasebe (eds.), Sekai Toji Zenshu (Ceramic Art of the World), vol. 11, Tokyo, 1976, no. 66–67.