TANG DYNASTY (618-907)

The powerful, muscular body and the ferocious expression of the present pair of lions are hallmarks of Tang sculptural vitality and naturalism. It is, however, very rare to find a pair of lions of such small size. They are closely related to a crouching sancai lion which is slightly larger in size (19.2 cm high), illustrated in The Tsui Museum of Art – Chinese Ceramics I: Neolithic to Liao, Hong Kong, 1993, no. 100. Compare also to another green-glazed seated lion (26.5 cm. high) with an almost identical powerful depiction of the muscular chest, in the collection of the British Museum, London and illustrated in The World’s Great Collections – Oriental Ceramics, Vol. 5: The British Museum, London, New York and San Francisco, 1981, no. 6.