A large sancai-glazed pottery figure of a Lokapala, Tang dynasty | 唐 三彩天王立像

Acquired in Germany prior to 1985.

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1985年之前得自德國

Lokapala, also known as ‘Guardians of the Directions,’ were frequently placed in temples and elite tombs during the Tang dynasty as symbols of protection for the deceased and religious alike. Brightly washed in sancai glaze and finely modeled with fearsome armour and intricate epaulettes, the present figure is among the finest examples of its type to come to market in recent years and likely once belonged to a particularly influential patron. 

Compare a related widely-published lokapala excavated in Luoyang from the tomb of General Liu Tingxun (d. 728 CE), now preserved in the British Museum, London, illustrated from the Eumorfopoulos Collection in Carl Hentze, Chinese Tomb Figures, London, 1928, pl. 109; a pair unearthed in 1971 from the Tang tomb of Prince Zhanghuai in Qian County, now preserved in the Qianling Museum, in Chen Anli, ed., National Treasure Collection of Rare Cultural Relics of Shaanxi Province. Tang sancai, Xi’an, 1998, pp 230-1; and another figure of similar sculptural quality with related cap and epaulettes but glazed primarily in blue, sold at Christie’s New York, 19th September 2014, lot 724.

天王像，亦為方位守護神，為唐代常見之護法神祇，廣泛安置於寺院及貴族墓葬之中，象徵對亡者與宗教空間的守護。此尊天王施以鮮麗三彩釉彩，甲冑威猛，肩飾精細，為近年市場上所見最為出色者之一，推測原應出自一位身分顯赫之供奉者之墓。

可參考一尊出土於洛陽、現藏於大英博物館之天王像，原為劉庭訓將軍（卒於728年）墓出土，曾為尤摩弗帕勒斯舊藏，著錄於 Carl Hentze，《Chinese Tomb Figures》，倫敦，1928年，圖版109；另參見1971年出土於乾縣章懷太子墓之一對天王像，現藏於乾陵博物館，著錄於陳安利主編，《中華國寶：陝西珍貴文物集成：唐三彩卷，西安，1998年，頁230–231；另見一尊風格相近、戴帽與肩甲相類而主釉色為藍的天王像，售於紐約佳士得，2014年9月19日，編號724。