A RARE PAINTED GRAY STONE FIGURE OF A DANCER

ANOTHER PROPERTY

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A RARE PAINTED GRAY STONE FIGURE OF A DANCER
TANG DYNASTY

Shown kneeling on the right leg and with left leg and foot extended, her neck and head stretched forward and her body bent from the waist with right arm swept backward and to the side forcing the long, full sleeve back across her shoulders, the costume fashioned in several layers with low-cut bodice and bands of lappets around the upper arm and falling in graceful folds around the lower body and onto the square base, her full, round face carved with small mouth and nose and long-lidded eyes beneath arched brows, all framed by hair dressed in double topknots and painted black, traces of red, gray and white pigment, arms broken--12 5/8 in. (32cm.) high

Lot Essay

Although stone secular figures of Tang Dynasty date are very rare, two other gray stone figures of dancers similar in pose, costume and hair style, but slightly smaller in size, have been published. One is the dancer from the collection of H.J. Oppenheim included in the International Exhibition of Chinese Art, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1935-36, Catalogue no. 2406, the other was sold at Sotheby's, London, December 12, 1978, lot 259

Compare also the stylistically similar painted pottery dancer illustrated by C. Hentze, Chinese Tomb Figures, London, 1928, pl. 66. This figure shown in a comparable pose, but with her arms outstretched, wears similar robes with pendent sleeves and also has her hair dressed in double topknots

Gray stone figures of musicians of this size are also known. A female musician playing a lute in the Fine Arts University, Tokyo, is illustrated in Sui To no Bijutsu, pl. 295 and another playing a harp was included in the exhibition of Ancient Chinese Sculpture, Eskenazi Ltd., 1978, Catalogue no. 3

An analysis of the pigment on this figure shows that its composition is consistent with that of other samples dating from the Tang Dynasty