15th C. Thai Glazed Pottery Wine Vessel - Bird & Rider

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Exceptional Antiquities | Asian | Ethnographi...

By Artemis Gallery

Jun 10, 2021

Set Reminder 2021-06-10 10:00:00 2021-06-10 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Exceptional Antiquities | Asian | Ethnographic https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/exceptional-antiquities-asian-ethnographic-7012
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• Lot Description
  Southeast Asia, Thailand, Sawankhalok culture, ca. 1350 to 1450 CE. A remarkable hand-built pottery wine vessel exhibiting the form of a figure riding a bird enveloped in a lustrous celadon-hued glaze. The fascinating dish presents a globular body, a narrow, cylindrical neck, a wide flared rim, all sitting upon a discoid foot. The tapered spout of the wine vessel dually functions as the head of the bird, showing a wavy crest, ovoid eyes, and a tubular beak, as the torso of a man rises from the base, seemingly riding his feathered friend. Holding the neck of his avian companion, the handsome fellow displays a broad torso and square shoulders. His friendly visage gazes upwards, featuring slender eyes beneath a raised brow, a bulbous nose, and a gentle smile, all flanked by a pair of long ears and topped with an intricate, turban-like headdress. A thick, flat handle rises from the posterior of the ancient vessel, doubly serving as a tail for the charming creature, while the body of the vessel is decorated in feather-like reliefs forming the tail feathers and wings of the bird. The tips of each wing point upwards, slightly raised from the pot's spherical body. An indecipherable relief pottery mark can be found on the bare terracotta base of this stunning and delightful vessel. Size: 9.25" L x 4.75" W x 7.75" H (23.5 cm x 12.1 cm x 19.7 cm)
  
  Sawankhalok pottery production achieved its peak by the mid-1300s. Potters created unglazed wares, monochrome glazed wares in white, black, brown, celadon, and olive like this example. Patterned pieces in brown with white inlaid glaze and underglaze iron decorated wares were also produced. The clay of Sawankhalok is quite fine and shows many small spots indicating high iron content - inclusions can also be red or silver hued.
  
  A similar example of a bird-form teapot without the figure can be found at Vanderbilt University Fine Arts Gallery under accession number 1985.075.
  
  Provenance: ex-Ashland University Museum, Ashland, Ohio, USA
  
  All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
  
  A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
  
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  #164861

  Condition

  Collection labels on base. Repair to head of figure with break lines visible. Repair and restoration to vessel neck, rim, spout, base, and end of bird's tail. Chips to tips of crest and tail. Abrasions to tips of wings and some softening of detail, commensurate with age. Otherwise, excellent with gorgeous craquelure.
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