11th Apr, 2024 11:00

TWO-DAY AUCTION: Fine Asian Art, Buddhism and Hinduism

 
  Lot 100
 

100

A RARE WHITE MARBLE FIGURE OF A FROG, TANG DYNASTY

Sold for €2,860

including Buyer's Premium


Lot details

China, 618-907. Finely carved as a frog seated on its hind legs atop a rectangular base, its head slightly raised, well detailed with an angular face and bulging eyes, the opaque stone of a creamy-beige tone.

Provenance: From an important south German aristocratic collection, assembled between 1950 and 1990.
Condition: Very good condition, commensurate with age. Old wear, chips, losses, nicks, scratches, signs of weathering and erosion, encrustations. Fine, naturally grown patina overall.

Weight: 324 g
Dimensions: Height 6.9 cm

Expert’s note: This piece is a charming example of a Tang animal carving which, despite its small size, possesses the sense of vitality and imminent movement that is characteristic of the period. However, the subject of a frog is rare in Tang art and no examples in white marble are recorded in public collections. For an earlier example from the Shang dynasty, see a marble sculpture of a recumbent frog, dated to the Shang dynasty, at Sotheby’s New York, 19 September 2023, lot 219. Compare also a frog-form water pot and dropper dated to the Eastern Han dynasty at Christie’s New York, 19 September 2013, lot 1111.

Literature comparison:
Compare a bronze bell in the form of a frog, 4.1 cm high, dated to the Tang dynasty, in the collection of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, object number O.214-1946. Compare a related stoneware frog of slightly smaller size, dated to the Tang dynasty, in the National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, accession number S2012.9.3200a-b.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Sotheby’s London, 1 November 2022, lot 136
Price: GBP 10,710 or approx. EUR 13,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A white marble figure of a lion, Tang dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the related modeling with similar pose and base, manner of carving, zoomorphic subject, and material with similar wear and weathering. Note the size (11.4 cm).

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 20 September 2013, lot 1511
Price: USD 30,000 or approx. EUR 36,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A marble carving of a rabbit on a lotus base, Tang dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the related modeling with similar pose and base, manner of carving, zoomorphic subject, and material with similar wear and weathering. Note the size (13.8 cm) and lotus petals.

 

China, 618-907. Finely carved as a frog seated on its hind legs atop a rectangular base, its head slightly raised, well detailed with an angular face and bulging eyes, the opaque stone of a creamy-beige tone.

Provenance: From an important south German aristocratic collection, assembled between 1950 and 1990.
Condition: Very good condition, commensurate with age. Old wear, chips, losses, nicks, scratches, signs of weathering and erosion, encrustations. Fine, naturally grown patina overall.

Weight: 324 g
Dimensions: Height 6.9 cm

Expert’s note: This piece is a charming example of a Tang animal carving which, despite its small size, possesses the sense of vitality and imminent movement that is characteristic of the period. However, the subject of a frog is rare in Tang art and no examples in white marble are recorded in public collections. For an earlier example from the Shang dynasty, see a marble sculpture of a recumbent frog, dated to the Shang dynasty, at Sotheby’s New York, 19 September 2023, lot 219. Compare also a frog-form water pot and dropper dated to the Eastern Han dynasty at Christie’s New York, 19 September 2013, lot 1111.

Literature comparison:
Compare a bronze bell in the form of a frog, 4.1 cm high, dated to the Tang dynasty, in the collection of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, object number O.214-1946. Compare a related stoneware frog of slightly smaller size, dated to the Tang dynasty, in the National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, accession number S2012.9.3200a-b.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Sotheby’s London, 1 November 2022, lot 136
Price: GBP 10,710 or approx. EUR 13,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A white marble figure of a lion, Tang dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the related modeling with similar pose and base, manner of carving, zoomorphic subject, and material with similar wear and weathering. Note the size (11.4 cm).

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 20 September 2013, lot 1511
Price: USD 30,000 or approx. EUR 36,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A marble carving of a rabbit on a lotus base, Tang dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the related modeling with similar pose and base, manner of carving, zoomorphic subject, and material with similar wear and weathering. Note the size (13.8 cm) and lotus petals.

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