Miscellaneana: Chinese Tang figures

 

LONDON – The latest Star Wars blockbuster and all the excitement around it is all very well, but as collectors of antiques, we prefer to look back in time, rather than what awaits future generations in galaxies far far away.

Collectors of antiquities look back farther than anyone and they have the advantage over most of us: The objects they search out might well be thousands of years old, but that doesn’t always mean they cost the earth.

A piece of Roman glass or ancient Egyptian pottery need not cost more than £20, while a Greek amphora or vase from the time of Alexander the Great can be had for an affordably modest £300.

Interestingly, their appeal is that designs are often in keeping with the current vogue for minimalism. Indeed, ancient artifacts have much in common with the studio pottery of Lucie Rie, Bernard Leach and Shoji Hamada.

The hobby is not without its pitfalls, however. Twenty years ago prancing Chinese Han and Tang dynasty pottery horses, for example, were rare, remarkable collectors’ items that sold for tens of thousands of pounds. Then came the tomb looters and the smugglers, followed by the fakers.

Soon these and other antiquities were flooding out of China via Hong Kong and prices dropped accordingly. A subsequent clampdown on illegal exports by the Chinese government saw prices stabilize and today, a Tang horse backed by a guarantee, for example, can be had for £2,500.

 

 

Tang dynasty China was cosmopolitan and tolerant, welcoming new ideas and other religions. Literature, painting and the ceramic arts flourished. Chang’an, the country’s ancient capital, was one of the busiest and most cosmopolitan cities in the world.

Situated at the eastern end of the legendary silk route, it boasted 2 million inhabitants including an estimated 200,000 foreign residents. Indians, Persians, Turks, Arabs and Jews, were there to trade in a wide range of exotic merchandise making its way from east to west.

Different races and religions provided a heady cultural mix that was reflected in the artifacts of the city’s craftsmen.

 

 

Merchants, servants, entertainers, courtiers, monks and their animals were popular subjects for the artisan potters. The strange features of these foreigners, with their large noses and hairy faces, proved striking to the Chinese, and were a gift to the craftsmen who portrayed them.

Relatively low-fired and light bodied, Tang pottery is typically composed of earthenware, a porous and permeable common clay. Ranging in color from almost white to buff, red, or brown, depending on the mineral content, the figures were produced in three basic ways: molded; handcrafted with individually made parts combined or thrown on the potter’s wheel. The earthenware was fired in kilns at a temperature between 600 and 1100 degrees Celsius.

 

 

The hallmark of Tang figures is the “sancai,” or three-color, lead-silicate glazes. These were produced by melting lead with clay and then finely grinding the resulting glassy material before mixing it with water for application to the already fired earthenware.

Using a transparent glaze as a base, iron oxide was added to produce tones ranging from straw to amber to dark brown, while copper oxide was added to impart rich greens or cobalt oxide for dark, vibrant blues.

There is usually an unglazed area above the bases of figures, because the potters were not able to control the flow of the lead glazes during firings. During the seventh century, many figures were fired with a clear glaze or left unglazed with features painted on them. This was because potters faced an early death from high levels of lead poisoning in the glaze mixes.

A safer method evolved some centuries later and glazed figures enjoyed a revival in the Ming period. Today, collectors tend to prefer either glazed or unglazed figures, although good glazed examples are usually more expensive, costing several thousands of pounds.

Of all the pottery animals, horses are particularly evocative of Tang society and for good reason: Horses were symbols of prestigious status and a measure of wealth and power. Rather than the native Chinese Przewalski pony, a small and stocky animal, however, the pottery horses were modeled on thoroughbreds.

 

 

It was the search for such horses that helped the silk route thrive as a means of trade. The Chinese were often prepared to barter thousands of bolts of silk for such coveted animals.

Horses were used for sport as well as military purposes. Polo had been introduced to China from Persia in the early seventh century and became a popular pastime enjoyed by both men and women. The emperor is said to have kept 40,000 horses in his stables, both for games and for war.

Pottery models of the horses are most commonly found in two poses: prancing with one leg raised, or standing four-square with head slightly turned to one side. Horses with warrior riders or occasionally entertainers were also made, particularly to protect the owner from evil spirits.

Less expensive today are horses with a groom or guardian figure. They come in a variety of sizes, unglazed or glazed and sometimes with painted decoration.

These figures are rarely in pristine condition. Their age and fragile nature means that almost all works have suffered some damage in the past. However, value is not affected entirely by condition and modest restoration, so long as it was carried out by a professional, should not significantly affect the price of a figure. Age and authenticity is more of a concern.

 

 

The number of fakes on the market has long been a concern, particularly to anyone new to the hobby. Historically, however, sufficient numbers of antique examples have been in circulation in the West for long enough to ensure they have a well-documented history. Most dealers will buy only from such collections that are known to have been in the West for a generation.

Collectors should buy from reputable dealers at vetted fairs. With replicas being sold in tourist shops around the world, gone are the days when the general antique dealer could be sure of the authenticity of any old piece of Chinese pottery.

A thermo luminescence test will determine the age of a tomb figure and dealers who sell expensive pieces will usually provide a test certificate. Oxford Authentication Ltd. is one company that carries out such tests, extracting a small plug-like sample from the object that is laboratory-tested.

The illustrations are from Bristol antiquities dealer Paul Burnett who will be exhibiting at Tatton Park antiques fair, near Knutsford in Cheshire, on Jan. 8-10.
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By CHRISTOPHER PROUDLOVE