AN EXCEPTIONALLY RARE LIMESTONE RELIEF OF RIDERS AND CHARIOTEERS, EASTERN HAN TO SIX DYNASTIES

Published & Exhibited: Katharine House Gallery, Marlborough, Works of Art from the Collection of Peter O’Toole, 13 May-24 June 2017, no. 43.

Expert’s note:
The present lot may have left a strong impression on Peter O’Toole, who acquired it from P. C. Lu in 1964 while filming on location in China. The actor’s great sensitivity and keen eye doubtlessly translated into his collecting activities, and his superior understanding of art in general is demonstrated by a crucial scene in one of his best movies, The Night of the Generals (1967), which he plays masterfully and without any dialogue: In character as Nazi general Wilhelm Tanz, he views a stash of ‘Entartete Kunst’ stored behind locked doors at the Jeu de Paume gallery in Paris, containing several masterpieces of Impressionism looted from Jewish collections. At first intrigued by the ‘decadent’ modernist works, he finds himself stricken with horrified self-recognition as he stares at Van Gogh’s ‘Vincent in Flames’ self-portrait. Peter O’Toole’s daughter Kate O’Toole recalls that the present limestone relief hung in the entrance hall of their family home in Hampstead, London, when this memorable scene was filmed.

China, 8-589 AD. Superbly carved to depict charioteers and riders on horseback charging forward with zeal, each equestrian with a parasol, as a lone footman armed with a spear follows the party. The mottled stone with dark brown and black veins, patches of gray, and distinct shades and veins of deep russet.

Provenance: Wu-Leung Temple, before 1964. P. C. Lu, Hong Kong, 1964, acquired from the above. Collection of Peter O'Toole, acquired from the above, and thence by descent to his daughter Kate O’Toole. Katharine House Gallery, Marlborough, United Kingdom, 2017. A private collection in the United Kingdom, acquired from the above. A copy of a Certificate of Identity issued by P.C. Lu. and addressed to Peter O’Toole, dated 5 January 1964, signed by P.C. Lu., and confirming the dating above, accompanies this lot. Started as a small business in January 1976 in Hong Kong, selling Chinese antiques, P. C. Lu was able to scale operations, eventually sending his son Fred to MIT to pursue his PhD. Today, many objects from his fine collection are housed in the British Museum. Peter O'Toole (1932-2013) was an English stage and film actor. He attended RADA, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and began working in the theatre, gaining recognition as a Shakespearean actor at the Bristol Old Vic and with the English Stage Company. In 1959 he made his West End debut in The Long and the Short and the Tall, and played the title role in Hamlet in the National Theatre's first production in 1963. Excelling on the London stage, O'Toole was known for his ‘hellraiser’ lifestyle off it. Making his film debut in 1959, O'Toole achieved international recognition playing T. E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia (1962) for which he received his first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. He was nominated for this award another seven times. O’Toole’s interest in Asian art emerged from his time spent on location filming Lord Jim in 1964, where the locations included Angkor Wat, Lantau Island, China, and Malacca.
Condition: Excellent condition, commensurate with age. Wear, obvious losses, traces of weathering and erosion, small chips, scattered nicks and scratches. The stone features a naturally occurring fontanelle at its center, untouched by alterations or repairs of any kind. A magnificent, naturally developed patina covers the surface, complemented by a fine, ancient polish.

Weight: 14.8 kg
Dimensions: Size 38.5 x 63 cm

Literature comparison:
Compare related carvings from the Wu Liang Shrines, Eastern Han Dynasty, preserved in the form of rubbings kept in the Museum of the Institute of History and Philology, item nos. 27353 and 27349.