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A Rare large green and straw-glazed pottery model of a pagoda Liao dynasty, 10th -12th centuries image 1
A Rare large green and straw-glazed pottery model of a pagoda Liao dynasty, 10th -12th centuries image 2
A Rare large green and straw-glazed pottery model of a pagoda Liao dynasty, 10th -12th centuries image 3
A Rare large green and straw-glazed pottery model of a pagoda Liao dynasty, 10th -12th centuries image 4
A Rare large green and straw-glazed pottery model of a pagoda Liao dynasty, 10th -12th centuries image 5
A Rare large green and straw-glazed pottery model of a pagoda Liao dynasty, 10th -12th centuries image 6
A Rare large green and straw-glazed pottery model of a pagoda Liao dynasty, 10th -12th centuries image 7
A Rare large green and straw-glazed pottery model of a pagoda Liao dynasty, 10th -12th centuries image 8
A Rare large green and straw-glazed pottery model of a pagoda Liao dynasty, 10th -12th centuries image 9
A Rare large green and straw-glazed pottery model of a pagoda Liao dynasty, 10th -12th centuries image 10
A Rare large green and straw-glazed pottery model of a pagoda Liao dynasty, 10th -12th centuries image 11
A Rare large green and straw-glazed pottery model of a pagoda Liao dynasty, 10th -12th centuries image 12
A Rare large green and straw-glazed pottery model of a pagoda Liao dynasty, 10th -12th centuries image 13
A Rare large green and straw-glazed pottery model of a pagoda Liao dynasty, 10th -12th centuries image 14
Lot 196

A Rare large green and straw-glazed pottery model of a pagoda
Liao dynasty, 10th -12th centuries

21 September 2020, 12:00 EDT
New York

US$45,000 - US$60,000

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A Rare large green and straw-glazed pottery model of a pagoda

Liao dynasty, 10th -12th centuries
Consisting of five sections, the first a green-glazed three level foundation base, each tier and side with applied high relief decoration of figures and floral motifs, the upper tiers with balustrade surrounds, with block brackets (dougong) that support the overhanging roofs, the roofs themselves bearing floral motifs with figural decorations on the hip-ridges, the uppermost tier with a lotus form base supporting a globular stupa capped with a finial (cha), the structure covered with amber and green glazes.
45 3/10in (115cm) high

Footnotes

遼 三彩舍利塔

Provenance
A Dutch private collection
An English private collection, purchased in Hong Kong in the 1990s

來源
荷蘭私人收藏
英國私人收藏,約1990年購於香港

The result of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test sample number C103x32 4 November 2003 is consistent with the dating of this lot.


This model of a pagoda offers a window into a fascinating point of transition in China's architectural evolution. Derived from green-glazed earthenware models of multi-storied watchtowers lou that were used as mingqi during the Han dynasty, this green and amber glazed model of a pagoda ta incorporates various features of the earlier watchtowers. The walk around balconies, dougong bracket supports, and slender footprint are all characteristics derived from the Han watchtower models from Northern China. However the presence of the stupa, its lotus support, and the capping finial herald the the arrival of Buddhist culture and its impact on the visual culture of China. Absent here are the archers and crossbows that populated the Han watchtower balconies, reminding us that although they share a similar profile, the watchtower and pagoda functioned differently.

For more on this architectural evolution, see Guo Qinghua "From Tower to Pagoda: Structural and Technological Transition" Construction History, vol 20 (2004), pp. 3-19.

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