Lot Essay
Usually described as falconers, standing figures holding birds are rare. Until recently, it was believed that falconer figures were foreigners, partly because of their hats and headdress and because falconry was not a Chinese activity. However, their features do not always appear to be foreign and given that polo was adopted by the Chinese there is no reason to exclude them from the group. Such figures vary in the style of hat and the glazing of their coats and can be either male or female, since it was quite common for women to dress in male clothing and pursue similar sports.
A Tang mural discovered during the excavation of the tomb of Li Zhongrun, Crown Prince Yide, included in the exhibition, Han and T'ang murals, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, illustrated by Jan Fontein and Wu Tung in the Catalogue, Boston, 1976, no. 353, illustrates two falconers with goshawks which the author states were "imported from the northeastern border regions, from the Kingdom of P'o-hai and the land of Ho-ho" and "were the most popular hunting birds in T'ang China".
Mary Tregear, Arts of China, Recent Discoveries, Japan, 1968, pl. 191, illustrates a painting from the tomb of Princess Yongtai, dated A.D. 706 showing an attendant wearing the same long coat and slippers and a purse hanging from his belt. Compare the example with a similar hat, but plain green robe, from the Idemitsu Collection, illustrated by William Watson, Tang and Liao Ceramics, Fribourg, 1984, p. 186, fig. 204; the example with the hands concealed in sleeves and wearing a plain-glazed coat but with similar hat, illustrated by Seiichi Mizuno, Tousansai (Tang Sancai), Heibonsha, Japan, 1977, vol. 35, p. 86, fig. 113 and in Sekai toji zenshu, Kawade Shobo, Japan, 1961, vol. 9, p. 212, fig. 133, where two others are illustrated figs. 131-132. An unglazed example with similar hat and hands held together like this, is illustrated in Zhonghua wuqian nian wenwu jikan (Tang Sancai), Taipei, 1984, fig. 25, and in Oriental Ceramics, Kodansha, Japan, 1982, vol. 8, fig. 31, from the Museum of Far Eastern Art, Stockholm. A green-coated falconer with his hands together and a similar shaped hat is illustrated by He Lei, Chinese Ceramics, New York, 1996, p. 101, p. 182. An example with a brown coat and green lapels from the Schloss Collection is illustrated in Ancient Chinese Ceramic Sculpture, Stamford, 1972, vol. 1, p. 43, fig. 9, and sold at Christie's, New York, December 3, 1984, lot 5. A last example with hands together and wearing a similar hat, but green coat, is illustrated by Yuzo Zugimura and Burton Watson, Chinese Sculpture, Bronzes and Jades in Japanese Collections, Honolulu, 1966, p. 36.
A Tang mural discovered during the excavation of the tomb of Li Zhongrun, Crown Prince Yide, included in the exhibition, Han and T'ang murals, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, illustrated by Jan Fontein and Wu Tung in the Catalogue, Boston, 1976, no. 353, illustrates two falconers with goshawks which the author states were "imported from the northeastern border regions, from the Kingdom of P'o-hai and the land of Ho-ho" and "were the most popular hunting birds in T'ang China".
Mary Tregear, Arts of China, Recent Discoveries, Japan, 1968, pl. 191, illustrates a painting from the tomb of Princess Yongtai, dated A.D. 706 showing an attendant wearing the same long coat and slippers and a purse hanging from his belt. Compare the example with a similar hat, but plain green robe, from the Idemitsu Collection, illustrated by William Watson, Tang and Liao Ceramics, Fribourg, 1984, p. 186, fig. 204; the example with the hands concealed in sleeves and wearing a plain-glazed coat but with similar hat, illustrated by Seiichi Mizuno, Tousansai (Tang Sancai), Heibonsha, Japan, 1977, vol. 35, p. 86, fig. 113 and in Sekai toji zenshu, Kawade Shobo, Japan, 1961, vol. 9, p. 212, fig. 133, where two others are illustrated figs. 131-132. An unglazed example with similar hat and hands held together like this, is illustrated in Zhonghua wuqian nian wenwu jikan (Tang Sancai), Taipei, 1984, fig. 25, and in Oriental Ceramics, Kodansha, Japan, 1982, vol. 8, fig. 31, from the Museum of Far Eastern Art, Stockholm. A green-coated falconer with his hands together and a similar shaped hat is illustrated by He Lei, Chinese Ceramics, New York, 1996, p. 101, p. 182. An example with a brown coat and green lapels from the Schloss Collection is illustrated in Ancient Chinese Ceramic Sculpture, Stamford, 1972, vol. 1, p. 43, fig. 9, and sold at Christie's, New York, December 3, 1984, lot 5. A last example with hands together and wearing a similar hat, but green coat, is illustrated by Yuzo Zugimura and Burton Watson, Chinese Sculpture, Bronzes and Jades in Japanese Collections, Honolulu, 1966, p. 36.