Tang Dynasty The high-shouldered ovoid body surmounted by a narrow cylindrical neck with three ribs imitating bamboo, flanked by a pair of mythical beasts drinking from the cupped mouth, their bodies fashioned as handles accented with decorative pommels, the surface covered in a creamy ivory-white glaze stopping irregularly above the foot to reveal the buff body. 42.5cm (16 3/4in) high.
唐 白釉雙龍柄尊
Provenance: Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Bernat (1896-1982), New York, Massachusetts Sotheby's New York, 7 November 1980, lot 54 Christie's New York, 4 June 1987, lot 156
Exhibited: Early Chinese Ceramics, Currier Gallery of Art, Manchester, New Hampshire, 1959, no.51 Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, Massachusetts, on loan, prior to 1980
展覽："Early Chinese Ceramics"，柯里爾美術館，曼徹斯特，新罕布什爾州，1959年，編號51 伍斯特藝術博物館，伍斯特，馬薩諸塞州，於1980年前借展
Eugene Bernat (1896-1982) was an American chemist who specialised in making dyes to replicate antique colours. His Chinese ceramic collection focused on pieces from the Ming dynasty and earlier.
Tang amphorae of this form, adorned with freely modelled dragon heads, are among the most distinctive vessel types of the early Tang dynasty. Reflecting artistic influences from the Silk Route, their design was inspired by Hellenistic glass vases of the Roman Empire, reinterpreted in China with dragon-head embellishments. One of the few surviving Roman glass vessels of this form, originally based on Greek pottery, is the renowned amphora from Olbia, Sardinia, Italy, dating to the late 2nd century AD and now in the Altes Museum, Berlin.
Although the amphora form was frequently reproduced in China, the present example stands out for its harmonious proportions, its applied decorative elements around the shoulder, and the raised ribs encircling the neck. A comparable amphora, featuring similar applications and grooved ribs, is in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Porcelain of the Jin and Tang Dynasties, Hong Kong, 1996, no.159.
Compare with a similar white-glazed amphora vase, Tang dynasty, which was sold at Sotheby's Paris, 10 June 2021, lot 37.
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