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Lot Essay
This exceptionally rare figure probably represents a Daoist sage. The depiction of clouds and bamboo on the plinth are also in keeping with a Daoist theme. Although the body is somewhat emaciated, the face is very jovial, suggesting that perhaps the man has been fasting, rather than suffering ill health. Indeed, the potter has been at pains to give the figure the appearance of lively animation. Traces of pigment remaining in crevices indicate that at one time the unglazed areas of the figure were brightly painted. The eyes remain bright, as the pupils have been depicted using brown glaze and the figure would originally have had a real hair moustache and beard.
While fully glazed Yuan dynasty qingbai models of Buddhist figures are well known, models of Daoist figures are much rarer. For the upper half of a fully glazed female Daoist figure excavated from the site at Luomaqiao, Jingdezhen see Ceramic Finds from Jingdezhen Kilns, Fung Ping Shan Museum, University of Hong Kong, 1992, no. 118. Unlike the Falk example, this figure appears to have been fully glazed. The technique of leaving areas of the figure unglazed in order to provide a better surface for painting with cold pigments is one that is associated with Tang dynasty sancai figures and was revived in the Song and Jin dynasties for figures with a qingbai glaze. A figure of a seated Guanyin, for example, was unearthed in 1964 from the crypt of a Jin dynasty pagoda at Fengtai, Beijing, and is now in the Capital Museum. The figure is mainly biscuit-fired, with only the edges of the robe covered with a qingbai glaze. Remains of pigment can be seen on the biscuit-fired areas as can be noted in the illustration in Beijing Relics, Beijing, 1990, p. 75, no. 114. Another seated Guanyin, this one with her outer robe and her rocky pedestal covered in qingbai glaze, was excavated from a Song dynasty well in Changzhou City, Jiangsu province in 1978. This figure, which has been dated to the Southern Song period, is illustrated in Gems of China's Cultural Relics, Beijing, 1997, no. 16.
A third figure of this type, also a seated Guanyin, now in the Shanghai Museum, is illustrated in Zhongguo Taoci Quanji, 16, Song Yuan Qingbaici, Shanghai, 1984, no. 76. This figure still has pigment adhering to the unglazed areas, and also bears an inscription dating it to the 11th year of the Shunyu reign of the Southern Song dynasty, equivalent to AD 1242. It is figures of this type that were undoubtedly the predecessors of the Falk figure and suggest that it should be dated to the late 13th or early 14th century.
While fully glazed Yuan dynasty qingbai models of Buddhist figures are well known, models of Daoist figures are much rarer. For the upper half of a fully glazed female Daoist figure excavated from the site at Luomaqiao, Jingdezhen see Ceramic Finds from Jingdezhen Kilns, Fung Ping Shan Museum, University of Hong Kong, 1992, no. 118. Unlike the Falk example, this figure appears to have been fully glazed. The technique of leaving areas of the figure unglazed in order to provide a better surface for painting with cold pigments is one that is associated with Tang dynasty sancai figures and was revived in the Song and Jin dynasties for figures with a qingbai glaze. A figure of a seated Guanyin, for example, was unearthed in 1964 from the crypt of a Jin dynasty pagoda at Fengtai, Beijing, and is now in the Capital Museum. The figure is mainly biscuit-fired, with only the edges of the robe covered with a qingbai glaze. Remains of pigment can be seen on the biscuit-fired areas as can be noted in the illustration in Beijing Relics, Beijing, 1990, p. 75, no. 114. Another seated Guanyin, this one with her outer robe and her rocky pedestal covered in qingbai glaze, was excavated from a Song dynasty well in Changzhou City, Jiangsu province in 1978. This figure, which has been dated to the Southern Song period, is illustrated in Gems of China's Cultural Relics, Beijing, 1997, no. 16.
A third figure of this type, also a seated Guanyin, now in the Shanghai Museum, is illustrated in Zhongguo Taoci Quanji, 16, Song Yuan Qingbaici, Shanghai, 1984, no. 76. This figure still has pigment adhering to the unglazed areas, and also bears an inscription dating it to the 11th year of the Shunyu reign of the Southern Song dynasty, equivalent to AD 1242. It is figures of this type that were undoubtedly the predecessors of the Falk figure and suggest that it should be dated to the late 13th or early 14th century.