FIVE DYNASTIES PERIOD, 10TH CENTURY

Details

A RARE GREY POTTERY ZODIAC FIGURE OF A MONKEY
FIVE DYNASTIES PERIOD, 10TH CENTURY
The solid-modelled figure shown seated atop a rectangular base with front paws crossed and head facing forward, the face well detailed and the hair indicated with incising
7¼ in. (18.4 cm.) high, box

Provenance

Chen Chi Collection, Tokyo.

Lot Essay

The depiction of monkeys in Chinese art is closely related to the belief that the animals have the ability to drive away evil spirits. A similar representation in soapstone of a seated monkey dated to the Tang dynasty is illustrated by Fang Jing Pei, Symbols and Rebuses in Chinese Art - Figures, Bugs, Beasts and Flowers, Berkeley, 2004, p. 131, fig. A.

The result of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminesence test no. C106d27 is consistent with the dating of this lot.

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