A POTTERY FIGURE OF A HORNED GUARDIAN BEAST, TANG DYNASTY OR EARLIER
China, Tang dynasty (618-907) or slightly earlier. The ferocious creature powerfully modeled seated on its haunches with claws clenched and pressed into the base, large bulging eyes and jaw open revealing large teeth and fangs, the back with a ridge of jagged spikes above a short tail, glazed in white and red.

Provenance: Galerie Zacke, Vienna, 24 January 1997. Dr. Mons Fischer, acquired from the above, sold at ATS 24,000 (approx. EUR 3,000 after inflation). Being a seasoned private collector of modern and contemporary art, Dr. Mons Fischer has acquired fine Chinese works of art since the 1980s, eventually building one of the most important collections of its kind in Austria.
Condition: Overall presenting well, and commensurate with age, as expected from Tang dynasty excavations. Losses, chips, encrustations, repairs, and a hole drilled for sample taking on the inside of the left front foot. Extensive wear and fading to pigments.
Scientific Analysis Report: A thermoluminescence sample analysis has been conducted by Hochschule fuer Angewandte Kunst, Institut fuer Silikatchemie und Archäometrie on 6 March 1998, based on sample number VHTL-P327, and sets the firing date of the sample taken at about 480 AD. A scan of the thermoluminescence report is accompanying this lot.

Weight: 1,244 g
Dimensions: Height 25 cm