SIX DYNASTIES PERIOD/EARLY TANG DYNASTY, 6TH-7TH CENTURY

It is rare to find pottery representations of dragons. During the Six Dynasties/Tang period they were more likely to be made in gilt-bronze, such as the figure of a striding scaly dragon unearthed from the site of Daming Palace in Xi'an City, 1980, included in the exhibition, Treasures of Chang'an, Hong Kong Museum of Art, 15 October 1993-2 January 1994, no. 46. Compare two grey pottery dragons with similar elongated snout and flowing eyebrows, but with smooth bodies and lacking spiny backs and tails, one sold in these rooms, 21 September 1995, lot 43; and another formerly in the Clark Collection included in the exhibition, Fine and Rare Chinese Works of Art and Ceramics, Rogern Keverne, London, Summer 2001, no. 31.

The result of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test no. C101y19 is consistent with the dating of this lot.