AMPHORA WITH DRAGON-SHAPED HANDLES, TANG DYNASTY

The long and complicated history of the shape illustrates the wide-ranging influences found in Chinese art in the seventh and eighth centuries. The ovoid shape suggests the “amphora” of Greece and Rome, while the animal-shaped handles allude to Persian and Central Asian metalwork. The ubiquitous dragon is a Chinese addition to this type of storage vessel.

Period : Tang dynasty(618-907)
Type : Amphora
Medium : Stoneware with raised decoration and pale buff glaze
Height : 52.5 cm
Provenance : Acquired in 1999, Hongkong
Reference : THE MET Accession Number: 38.56.7 (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/45862)
Sotheby's Paris 10 June 2021 <Arts d'Asie> Lot 37 (https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2021/arts-dasie/the-eugene-and-elva-bernat-white-glazed-amphora)

* Tang Amphora

This Tang Pottery amphora was made at a time when China was particularly influenced by metal-work and textiles, as well as other exotic objects from Central Asia, ultimately Hellenistic and Iranian. These objects were carried on the Silk Road to China and became very fashionable with the newly wealthy classes. So it is not surprising that this Tang cup is based on Central Asian metal-work.