China - Ming Dynasty Stucco Sancai-glazed ridge tile depicting a Taoist dignitary, probably Cao Guojiu. - 35 cm
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Current bid
€ 240
Reserve price not met
Expert
Selected by Sarah Le Helley
Studied Asian art and art market management; researched art in Taipei; worked in auctions.
Estimate € 3,200 - € 3,700
 | €240 | |
|---|---|---|
| €220 | |
| €200 |
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This Ming-dynasty stucco roof tile, dating to 1600–1650, depicts a Taoist dignitary probably representing Cao Guojiu and measures 35 × 17 × 12 cm.
AI-assisted summary
Description from the seller
Important Chinese terracotta ridge tile with polychrome sancai-type glazes, depicting a Taoist dignitary, probably Cao Guojiu, one of the Eight Immortals. China, Ming dynasty, late 16th–early 17th century.
The figure stands on a semi-cylindrical ridge tile and is distinguished by a particularly elegant silhouette. He wears a long, deeply pleated amber-yellow robe enhanced with turquoise-green, cream, and almost black aubergine glazes. The long, hanging sleeves frame the hands, which are clasped in front of the body around a ceremonial implement. The face is soberly modeled beneath a tall dignitary’s headdress, while the lower part of the costume is accented with vivid turquoise.
The piece belongs to the great tradition of polychrome architectural ceramics of the Ming dynasty, used to enliven and symbolically protect the rooflines of temples, palaces, and important buildings. The curved base, hollow interior, and visible perforation beneath the tile directly attest to this architectural function. Ming tiles held by the British Museum have a comparable construction; some are described as intended to be attached to a roof ridge by means of a tenon. The museum also notes that the Ming period was a particularly important moment in the development of these glazed rooftop figures.
The technique combines a molded and modeled terracotta body with colored glazes evoking the so-called sancai palette. An example at the British Museum depicting Han Xiangzi, one of the Taoist Eight Immortals, is likewise made of molded terracotta with green, cream, yellow, and black glazes, and dated circa 1490–1620, probably from 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 bears the same general dating.
The iconography merits particular attention. The figure wears the costume and headdress of a high-ranking dignitary, which had already led the Cornette de Saint Cyr auction house to describe him as “probably a dignitary or an immortal.” The presence of a ceremonial implement held in front of the body allows a tentative identification as Cao Guojiu, an aristocratic figure among the Taoist Eight Immortals. This remains a proposed iconographic identification and is therefore not presented as certain.
The piece also has a particularly interesting early 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 stated in the catalogue and on the sale slip for the Cornette de Saint Cyr auction. It was subsequently offered in Paris by Cornette de Saint Cyr on 22 March 2021, lot 153, when the collections of the Compagnie de la Chine et des Indes were dispersed, and was acquired at that sale by the current owner.
The condition is consistent with the object’s age and architectural function. There is wear, small flakes, minor losses of glaze, and old damage, as well as an old restoration to the neck noted in the earlier documentation. Areas of abrasion and variations in the surface reveal the pale, granular terracotta body in places. These old alterations now contribute to the work’s particularly expressive character without detracting from its overall legibility.
The interest of this tile lies as much in its sculptural quality and palette of glazes as in its clearly preserved architectural function, its probable place in the Taoist religious repertoire, and its documented provenance dating back to 1937.
Condition: Good considering its age and architectural function. Wear and scattered losses of glaze, small flakes, minor chips, and fine cracks. Old restoration to the neck noted in earlier documentation; old chip to 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, 22 March 2021, lot 153; Belgian private collection.
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 ridge tile with polychrome sancai-type glazes, depicting a Taoist dignitary, probably Cao Guojiu, one of the Eight Immortals. China, Ming dynasty, late 16th–early 17th century.
The figure stands on a semi-cylindrical ridge tile and is distinguished by a particularly elegant silhouette. He wears a long, deeply pleated amber-yellow robe enhanced with turquoise-green, cream, and almost black aubergine glazes. The long, hanging sleeves frame the hands, which are clasped in front of the body around a ceremonial implement. The face is soberly modeled beneath a tall dignitary’s headdress, while the lower part of the costume is accented with vivid turquoise.
The piece belongs to the great tradition of polychrome architectural ceramics of the Ming dynasty, used to enliven and symbolically protect the rooflines of temples, palaces, and important buildings. The curved base, hollow interior, and visible perforation beneath the tile directly attest to this architectural function. Ming tiles held by the British Museum have a comparable construction; some are described as intended to be attached to a roof ridge by means of a tenon. The museum also notes that the Ming period was a particularly important moment in the development of these glazed rooftop figures.
The technique combines a molded and modeled terracotta body with colored glazes evoking the so-called sancai palette. An example at the British Museum depicting Han Xiangzi, one of the Taoist Eight Immortals, is likewise made of molded terracotta with green, cream, yellow, and black glazes, and dated circa 1490–1620, probably from 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 bears the same general dating.
The iconography merits particular attention. The figure wears the costume and headdress of a high-ranking dignitary, which had already led the Cornette de Saint Cyr auction house to describe him as “probably a dignitary or an immortal.” The presence of a ceremonial implement held in front of the body allows a tentative identification as Cao Guojiu, an aristocratic figure among the Taoist Eight Immortals. This remains a proposed iconographic identification and is therefore not presented as certain.
The piece also has a particularly interesting early 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 stated in the catalogue and on the sale slip for the Cornette de Saint Cyr auction. It was subsequently offered in Paris by Cornette de Saint Cyr on 22 March 2021, lot 153, when the collections of the Compagnie de la Chine et des Indes were dispersed, and was acquired at that sale by the current owner.
The condition is consistent with the object’s age and architectural function. There is wear, small flakes, minor losses of glaze, and old damage, as well as an old restoration to the neck noted in the earlier documentation. Areas of abrasion and variations in the surface reveal the pale, granular terracotta body in places. These old alterations now contribute to the work’s particularly expressive character without detracting from its overall legibility.
The interest of this tile lies as much in its sculptural quality and palette of glazes as in its clearly preserved architectural function, its probable place in the Taoist religious repertoire, and its documented provenance dating back to 1937.
Condition: Good considering its age and architectural function. Wear and scattered losses of glaze, small flakes, minor chips, and fine cracks. Old restoration to the neck noted in earlier documentation; old chip to 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, 22 March 2021, lot 153; Belgian private collection.
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
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