China, 618-907. The compressed spherical body supported on three short curved legs and rising to a waisted neck with everted rim. The exterior finely engraved with seven leonine beasts enclosed by leafy scrolling vines against a ring-punched ground, the animals exquisitely rendered in varying poses, such as prancing or striding, with one pair confronted in the same roundel, one beast standing upright, and another to the base with its limbs stretched out in different directions. The slightly domed, matching cover similarly decorated with scrolling foliage and surmounted by a lotus bud finial.

Provenance: From the private collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, New York. With an old label from the Hartman’s inscribed with Alan Hartman’s dating for the present lot, ‘Tang’, along with further abbreviated notes. Alan Hartman (1930-2023) was an influential American art dealer, who took over his parents’ antique business in Manhattan and established the legendary Rare Art Gallery on Madison Avenue, with further locations in Dallas and Palm Beach. His wife Simone (née Horowitz) already served as assistant manager of the New York gallery before the couple married in 1975, and together they built a renowned collection for over half a century and became noted art patrons, enriching the collections of important museums including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (which opened the Alan and Simone Hartman Galleries in 2013) as well as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Brooklyn Museum in New York. Alan Hartman has been described as the greatest antiques dealer of our generation, and was widely recognized as a world authority in Chinese jade, bronzes, and Asian works of art.
Condition: Good condition with expected old wear, small dings, light dents, minuscule nicks, minor tarnish.

Weight: 76.8 g
Dimensions: Height 5.4 cm

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related silver tripod vessel, lacking the cover, dated to the Tang dynasty, in the Shaanxi History Museum.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 16 December 2021, lot 5009
Price: HKD 119,700 or approx. EUR 15,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An engraved silver tea caddy and cover, Late Tang dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the closely related decoration with similar leafy scrolling vines and ring-punched ground. Note the different form and the size (6.8 cm).

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 20 September 2013, lot 1466
Price: USD 27,500 or approx. EUR 33,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A rare miniature parcel-gilt silver globular tripod jar, Tang dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form and decoration with similar beasts. Note the parcel-gilding, the size (4 cm), and the missing cover.