China, 618-906. The well-rounded ovoid body rising from a flat foot, surmounted by a tall waisted neck and galleried rim, flanked by a pair of curved strap handles terminating in dragon heads biting the cup-shaped rim, the shoulder applied with two ferocious boar-headed figures in mid-stride, and a taotie mask below each handle. The buff earthenware covered with a creamy-beige glaze suffused with a dense network of crackle and stopping irregularly above the foot.

Provenance: New York trade. Acquired from a noted private collection.
Condition: The amphora with repairs to the handles, the base with a filled aperture, minor touchups, small losses, few small chips here and there, light scratches, and firing flaws including firing cracks and glaze flaking. All commensurate with age, the amphora displaying exceptionally well.

Weight: 3.5 kg
Dimensions: Height 44.2 cm

Tang amphorae of this flamboyant form, with freely modeled dragon heads, are among the most characteristic vessel forms of the early Tang dynasty and reflect the international spirit of the period. Their form was inspired by Hellenistic glass vases made in the Roman Empire whose style reached China via the Silk Route, where it was modified by the addition of dragon heads. One of the rare extant Roman glass vessels of this form, which is based on Greek pottery vessels, is the famous amphora found in Olbia, on the Black sea (today Ukraine), which can be dated to the 2nd half of the 2nd century AD, and is now on display in the Altes Museum, Berlin, Germany, identity number 30219, 254.

White stoneware pieces of this type can be attributed to the Gongyi kilns in Henan province. Several white dragon-handled amphorae without applications are included in Zhongguo gu ciyao daxi. Zhongguo Gongyi yao/Series of China’s Ancient Porcelain Kiln Sites. Gongyi Kiln of China, Beijing, 2011, where it is suggested, pp. 325f., that pieces with long neck are predating pieces with short neck, and a color-glazed example of very similar proportions, excavated from a tomb at Guanlin, Luoyang, illustrated fig. 4: 6, is attributed to the period of 618 – c. 690; several white pieces excavated from Tang tombs in the Gongyi region, fragments of similar dragon-head handles from the Baihe kiln site in Gongyi, and one further example from the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, are illustrated, ibid., pp. 97-99; p. 262; p. 270, figs 7 and 8; p. 282, fig. 3; p. 309, fig. 16; and p. 413.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related amphora with similar appliqué decoration and freely modeled dragon heads, dated 7^th century, 61.6 cm high, in the Minneapolis Institute of Art, accession number 2004.12.2.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Sotheby’s Paris, 10 June 2021, lot 37
Price: EUR 47,880 or approx. EUR 49,500 adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: The Eugene and Elva Bernat white-glazed ‘Amphora’ vase Tang dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the closely related amphora form, straw-white glaze, dragon handles, and appliqué decoration. Note the ribbed neck and the size (42.5 cm).

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 14 September 2018, lot 1272
Price: USD 21,250 or approx. EUR 23,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A large straw-glazed amphora, Tang dynasty (AD 618-907)
Expert remark: Compare the closely related amphora form, straw-white glaze, dragon handles, and appliqué decoration. Note the ribbed neck and the size (41.5 cm).