China - Ming Dynasty Stucco Sancai-glazed ridge tile depicting a Taoist dignitary, probably Cao Guojiu. - 35 cm
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Selected by Peter Reynaers
Has nearly 30 years’ experience and moderated multiple online art research groups.
Estimate € 3,200 - € 3,700
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Original Ming dynasty sancai polychrome terracotta roof tile depicting a Taoist dignitary, probably Cao Guojiu, dating to the late 16th–early 17th century; 35 × 17 × 12 cm, in good condition.
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Description from the seller
Important Chinese terracotta sancai-glazed polychrome roof tile, depicting a Taoist dignitary, probably Cao Guojiu, one of the Eight Immortals. China, Ming dynasty, late 16th – early 17th century.
The figure stands upright on a semi-cylindrical ridge tile and is distinguished by an especially elegant silhouette. It wears a long yellow-amber robe deeply pleated, enriched with turquoise-green, cream and almost black aubergine glazes. The long flowing sleeves frame the hands joined before the body around a ceremonial attribute. The face is soberly modeled, beneath a high dignitary’s hat, while the lower part of the costume is accented with a vivid turquoise.
The ensemble belongs to the great tradition of Ming dynasty polychrome architectural ceramics, used to animate and symbolically protect the rooflines of temples, palaces and important buildings. The curved base, the internal cavity and the hole visible beneath the tile testify directly to this architectural function. Ming tiles preserved at the British Museum show a comparable construction; some are described as intended to be fixed on a roof ridge by means of a tenon. The museum also notes that the Ming period constitutes a particularly important moment in the development of these glazed roof figures.
The technique combines a molded and formed terracotta body with colored glazes evoking the sancai palette. An example at the British Museum representing Han Xiangzi, one of the Taoist Eight Immortals, is also executed in molded terracotta with green, cream, yellow and black glazes, dated to around 1490-1620, probably in Shanxi. A second example, depicting a Buddhist monk and measuring 40.5 × 17 × 12 cm, has proportions very close to those of the present piece and receives the same general dating.
The iconography merits particular attention. The figure wears the costume and headgear of a high dignitary, which had already led the house Cornette de Saint Cyr to describe it as “probably a dignitary or an immortal.” The presence of a ceremonial attribute held in front of the body allows, with caution, an identification with Cao Guojiu, an aristocratic figure of the Eight Taoist Immortals. This identification remains a bibliographic suggestion and is therefore not presented as certain.
The piece also has a notably interesting ancient provenance. It belonged to the Compagnie de la Chine et des Indes, Paris, under inventory number 2612, with an acquisition recorded in Beijing in 1937. This provenance is explicitly listed in the catalog and on the sale note of Cornette de Saint Cyr. It was later shown in Paris by Cornette de Saint Cyr on March 22, 2021, lot 153, during the dispersion of the Compagnie de la Chine et des Indes collections, and was subsequently acquired at that sale by the current owner.
The condition is consistent with age and the architectural function of the object. Wear, chipping, small glaze losses and old accidents are observed, as well as an old restoration at the neck reported by earlier documentation. Areas of abrasion and surface variations reveal, in places, the pale, granular body of the terracotta. These ancient alterations today contribute to the work’s particularly expressive character without compromising its overall reading.
The interest of this tile lies as much in its plastic quality and glaze palette as in its clearly preserved architectural function, its probable belonging to the Taoist religious repertoire, and its documented provenance since 1937.
State: Good condition considering age and architectural function. Wear and sporadic glaze losses, chipping, small flakes and minor cracks. Old restoration at the neck noted in earlier documentation; old chip at one corner of the base
Dimensions: 35 × 17 × 12 cm.
Weight: 2.573 kg.
Provenance: Compagnie de la Chine et des Indes, Paris, inv. 2612; acquired in Beijing in 1937; Cornette de Saint Cyr, Paris, March 22, 2021, lot 153; Belgian private collection.
video link: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/9s4zp9wc2sho10kl62ky2/AFN3ac2gHFL1GsTMlddZ5Ng?rlkey=b0j51cbht5uxeivtoe5ummdjk&dl=0
Seller's Story
MIMOSA SA — EXPERTISE, RESEARCH AND TRANSMISSION
For more than 26 years, I have been working as an art dealer specializing in ancient Asian arts. My work is not simply to offer objects: it is to observe them, to understand them, to study them and to document them before passing them to a new collector.
Each work presented by Mimosa SA undergoes thorough examination. Depending on its nature, this study may concern the iconography, the style, the proportions, the material, the execution techniques, surface traces, patina, the condition, restorations, provenance as well as relevant bibliographic, museum or archaeological comparisons. When justified, additional scientific analyses may also be undertaken.
Our approach rests on the experience of sight, gained from direct contact with the works for over two decades, but also on methodical and constantly renewed research. We always favor a cautious, coherent and argued attribution rather than a seductive but insufficiently substantiated assertion.
Transparency is at the heart of our approach. The wear, gaps, accidents, ancient restorations or more recent interventions are reported as precisely as possible. When an attribution carries uncertainty or remains a working hypothesis, it is clearly presented as such.
Present on Catawiki since 2016, we have chosen to maintain a regular selection of works there in order to meet international collectors who value authenticity, knowledge and quality of documentation.
Each acquisition is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued under our professional responsibility. For the most important works, this certificate takes the form of a genuine study dossier gathering the main technical, stylistic, iconographic, historical and bibliographic observations made during our research.
The same standard applies to shipping. Over the years, we have developed a packaging method adapted to old, fragile, heavy or complex-shaped objects. Each work is protected, immobilized and carefully packaged, according to its material and its particularities. The shipping costs correspond to the real needs for protection, handling, insurance and secure transport. Shipping is never regarded as a source of commercial profit.
Acquiring a work from Mimosa SA is to receive a selected, studied, described, documented and prepared object with the same care that we would wish for a work destined for our own collection.
Translated by Google TranslateImportant Chinese terracotta sancai-glazed polychrome roof tile, depicting a Taoist dignitary, probably Cao Guojiu, one of the Eight Immortals. China, Ming dynasty, late 16th – early 17th century.
The figure stands upright on a semi-cylindrical ridge tile and is distinguished by an especially elegant silhouette. It wears a long yellow-amber robe deeply pleated, enriched with turquoise-green, cream and almost black aubergine glazes. The long flowing sleeves frame the hands joined before the body around a ceremonial attribute. The face is soberly modeled, beneath a high dignitary’s hat, while the lower part of the costume is accented with a vivid turquoise.
The ensemble belongs to the great tradition of Ming dynasty polychrome architectural ceramics, used to animate and symbolically protect the rooflines of temples, palaces and important buildings. The curved base, the internal cavity and the hole visible beneath the tile testify directly to this architectural function. Ming tiles preserved at the British Museum show a comparable construction; some are described as intended to be fixed on a roof ridge by means of a tenon. The museum also notes that the Ming period constitutes a particularly important moment in the development of these glazed roof figures.
The technique combines a molded and formed terracotta body with colored glazes evoking the sancai palette. An example at the British Museum representing Han Xiangzi, one of the Taoist Eight Immortals, is also executed in molded terracotta with green, cream, yellow and black glazes, dated to around 1490-1620, probably in Shanxi. A second example, depicting a Buddhist monk and measuring 40.5 × 17 × 12 cm, has proportions very close to those of the present piece and receives the same general dating.
The iconography merits particular attention. The figure wears the costume and headgear of a high dignitary, which had already led the house Cornette de Saint Cyr to describe it as “probably a dignitary or an immortal.” The presence of a ceremonial attribute held in front of the body allows, with caution, an identification with Cao Guojiu, an aristocratic figure of the Eight Taoist Immortals. This identification remains a bibliographic suggestion and is therefore not presented as certain.
The piece also has a notably interesting ancient provenance. It belonged to the Compagnie de la Chine et des Indes, Paris, under inventory number 2612, with an acquisition recorded in Beijing in 1937. This provenance is explicitly listed in the catalog and on the sale note of Cornette de Saint Cyr. It was later shown in Paris by Cornette de Saint Cyr on March 22, 2021, lot 153, during the dispersion of the Compagnie de la Chine et des Indes collections, and was subsequently acquired at that sale by the current owner.
The condition is consistent with age and the architectural function of the object. Wear, chipping, small glaze losses and old accidents are observed, as well as an old restoration at the neck reported by earlier documentation. Areas of abrasion and surface variations reveal, in places, the pale, granular body of the terracotta. These ancient alterations today contribute to the work’s particularly expressive character without compromising its overall reading.
The interest of this tile lies as much in its plastic quality and glaze palette as in its clearly preserved architectural function, its probable belonging to the Taoist religious repertoire, and its documented provenance since 1937.
State: Good condition considering age and architectural function. Wear and sporadic glaze losses, chipping, small flakes and minor cracks. Old restoration at the neck noted in earlier documentation; old chip at one corner of the base
Dimensions: 35 × 17 × 12 cm.
Weight: 2.573 kg.
Provenance: Compagnie de la Chine et des Indes, Paris, inv. 2612; acquired in Beijing in 1937; Cornette de Saint Cyr, Paris, March 22, 2021, lot 153; Belgian private collection.
video link: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/9s4zp9wc2sho10kl62ky2/AFN3ac2gHFL1GsTMlddZ5Ng?rlkey=b0j51cbht5uxeivtoe5ummdjk&dl=0
Seller's Story
MIMOSA SA — EXPERTISE, RESEARCH AND TRANSMISSION
For more than 26 years, I have been working as an art dealer specializing in ancient Asian arts. My work is not simply to offer objects: it is to observe them, to understand them, to study them and to document them before passing them to a new collector.
Each work presented by Mimosa SA undergoes thorough examination. Depending on its nature, this study may concern the iconography, the style, the proportions, the material, the execution techniques, surface traces, patina, the condition, restorations, provenance as well as relevant bibliographic, museum or archaeological comparisons. When justified, additional scientific analyses may also be undertaken.
Our approach rests on the experience of sight, gained from direct contact with the works for over two decades, but also on methodical and constantly renewed research. We always favor a cautious, coherent and argued attribution rather than a seductive but insufficiently substantiated assertion.
Transparency is at the heart of our approach. The wear, gaps, accidents, ancient restorations or more recent interventions are reported as precisely as possible. When an attribution carries uncertainty or remains a working hypothesis, it is clearly presented as such.
Present on Catawiki since 2016, we have chosen to maintain a regular selection of works there in order to meet international collectors who value authenticity, knowledge and quality of documentation.
Each acquisition is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued under our professional responsibility. For the most important works, this certificate takes the form of a genuine study dossier gathering the main technical, stylistic, iconographic, historical and bibliographic observations made during our research.
The same standard applies to shipping. Over the years, we have developed a packaging method adapted to old, fragile, heavy or complex-shaped objects. Each work is protected, immobilized and carefully packaged, according to its material and its particularities. The shipping costs correspond to the real needs for protection, handling, insurance and secure transport. Shipping is never regarded as a source of commercial profit.
Acquiring a work from Mimosa SA is to receive a selected, studied, described, documented and prepared object with the same care that we would wish for a work destined for our own collection.
Translated by Google TranslateDetails
Culture
China - Ming Dynasty
Century/timeframe
1600-1650
Name of object
Sancai-glazed ridge tile depicting a Taoist dignitary, probably Cao Guojiu.
Acquired from
Gallery / Antique dealer
Year acquired
1937
Material
Stucco
Country acquired from
France
Condition
Good
Previous owner acquired from
Auction house
Height
35 cm
Previous owner - year acquired
2021
Width
17 cm
Previous owner - country acquired from
France
Depth
12 cm
I verify that I have obtained this object legally and that I am allowed to sell it
Yes
Authenticity
Original/official
Sold by
Disclaimer
The seller was informed by Catawiki about documentation requirements and guarantees the following: - the object was legally obtained, - the seller has the right to sell and/or export the object, as relevant, - the seller will provide the necessary provenance information and arrange required documentation and permits/licenses, as applicable and as per local laws, - the seller will notify the buyer of any delays in obtaining permits/licenses. By bidding, you acknowledge that import documentation may be required depending on your country of residence and that obtaining permits/licenses may cause delays in the delivery of your object.
The seller was informed by Catawiki about documentation requirements and guarantees the following: - the object was legally obtained, - the seller has the right to sell and/or export the object, as relevant, - the seller will provide the necessary provenance information and arrange required documentation and permits/licenses, as applicable and as per local laws, - the seller will notify the buyer of any delays in obtaining permits/licenses. By bidding, you acknowledge that import documentation may be required depending on your country of residence and that obtaining permits/licenses may cause delays in the delivery of your object.
