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$2,100.00
Cocoon jars were mingqi made for placement in tombs to comfort the deceased on their journey to the cosmos. An elixir of Immortality made from mulberry leaves or their ashes was placed inside for the deceased to drink and transmigrate into the world of the beyond like a butterfly. Ovoid in shape to resemble a silkworm cocoon, they rest on a small trumpet-shaped foot and have a narrow neck and a wide lip jutting outward at the mouth. Painted after firing with vertical bands dividing it into panels, swirling cloud scrolls and circular “eye” motifs at each end, this beautiful vessel is in excellent condition for its age with expected paint losses, scrapes and adhesions of dirt.
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$395.00
This glazed pig mingqi was one of many items made for a tomb to placate the spirit of the deceased and assure the soul’s access to the things enjoyed when alive. This animal mingqi confirms the importance of pigs as a food source and of raising livestock in Han China. An alert animal whose stocky body is typical, it’s dark lead green glaze and damp tomb created a chemical reaction over centuries making it a lustrous, iridescent green impossible to copy that is highly valued in China and by collectors. In very good condition, it has expected glaze losses, minor abrasions and cracks due to its age and long tomb burial.
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$850.00
This masterfully carved ancestor as a mandarin official sits on horseshoe chair set on a footed high decorated plinth dressed in a well-appointed formal 3-button Mandarin long coat, pointed rattan hat. His face is uniquely and unusually very individualized with heavy lidded eyes, in a benevolent expression and his advanced aged indicated by the wrinkles clearly depicting a loved individual. It is in excellent condition with a fine patina. This exquisitely carved image was true homage to a revered family member and is one of our finest ancestor figures.
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$340.00
Dressed in a red robe with a high neck collar, extremely wide sleeves extending below the knees and a belt around his waist, this is a civil official or an ancestor standing on a rectangular base with hands together wearing along red civil official’s robe that extends to his shoes but has no rank badge indicated. The piece is in very good condition with much of its original pigmentation/lacquer finish and minor cracks and lacquer losses.
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$395.00
This ancestor figure, carved in boxwood the preferred wood softwood during the Qing Dynasty, is portrayed in the characteristic pose of a Chinese civilian official, grasping his official’s belt with his right hand to demonstrate his important stature – which was really not so important for this gentleman, given his humble seating furniture and his modest attire. His right hand rests on the his knee as he sits erect on a thick low-back pedestal. Unlike many officials who are serious, this one is more approachable, with simple deeply carved smiling features, high arching brows and a black painted mustache and beard.
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$445.00
This small fine quality piece depicts a modest ancestor seated with his arms on the rests of a horseshoe chair on a raised pedestal emphasizing his importance. He is dressed in a well-appointed 5-button Mandarin long coat with a round collar, wears a plain round Mandarin officials hat (missing its top finial), and an undergarment extending to the top of his black shoes. He has a somewhat personalized oval-shaped tranquil face, a high forehead with curved painted brows, an extremely long triangular nose, a hint of a smile on his pursed lips, and a triangular pigtail down his back.
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$385.00
A group of 12 zodiac figures as mingqi sometimes accompanied the wealthier deceased in their tomb. This Ming dynasty earthenware figurine stands on a low circular base and wears an official’s hat and long flowing robes. It is difficult to identify the specific animal held here but it may be a rabbit, small dog or baby pig. The detailed figure is hollow and partially mould-made and unlike glazed mingqi, was covered with a white slip and painted using black and white pigments which are mostly extant.
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$685.00
Often ancestral figures were portrayed sitting in horseshoe chairs to reflect the high status of the figure they were portraying. As many earthenware mingqi, this well-modeled chair has a liberally applied thick green glaze resulting in expected drips around the stretchers. The seat is decorated with a yellow glaze imitating caning and the decorative carved design on the splat also has a yellow glaze and a carved decorative “clocklike” circular design. The bottom of the seat and legs are not glazed, as is usual. It is in very good condition with expected minor chips and minor glaze pitting and deterioration consistent with its age and long burial. It pairs perfectly with item 3330 and together would add to a fine collection of Chinese ceramics.
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$685.00
This charming miniature Ming dynasty ceramic horseshoe pottery chair is an accurate model of an impressive Ming chair that would have been made of a beautifully grained hardwood and constructed with a continuous horseshoe shaped top rail and a caned seat. The curved splat of a wood chair might have either carved or pierced motifs or medallions and straight or curved stretchers joining the legs in pairs at the same height on each side. Often ancestral carved figures were portrayed sitting in horseshoe chairs to reflect the high status of the figure they were portraying. This ceramic mingqi has a thick green glaze throughout which was liberally applied normal usual drips around the stretchers. The seat is decorated with a yellow glaze in imitation of caning as is the decorative carved design on the splat, but the bottoms of both the seat and legs are unglazed. The rail ends splay to the right and left for hand comfort and decorative effect are traditionally found in Ming Dynasty hardwood horseshoe-shaped chairs. It is in very good condition with minor chips and paint losses and fading due to its being buried underground in a tomb for centuries. It would be a fine addition to a collection of antique ceramics.
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$875.00
This ancestor figure portrayed as an official sits on a backless chair upon a high decorative pedestal upon which his feet rest. He wears the attire of an official: a futou cap; high collared red robe with double belt above and below his ample stomach that extending to the top of his black shoes. Both hands formally rest on his thighs, the right holding a long slender curved hu tablet. The holes above his lip and on his chin with short hairs indicate the presence of a mustache and beard now partially lost and the entire face is gilt. Gilt on his face and red pigmentation signify fu as well as reinforcing his high status.
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