A rare blue and green-glazed zodiac figure of a rooster, Tang dynasty 唐 藍綠釉酉雞生肖俑

It is very rare to find Tang pottery zodiac figures with coloured glazes, particularly with a blue glaze; see a smaller figure of a rat, with a blue-glazed head and chestnut-coloured robe, sold in our New York rooms, 6th November 1981, lot 142.

Compare four sancai zodiac kneeling figures, excavated at Situmiaozhen near Yangzhou in Jiangsu province, illustrated in Kaogu, Beijing, 1985, no. 9, pl. VI, with the rooster figure shown in fig. 2. See also a complete set of blue and amber-glazed zodiac figures in the collection of The Ten-Views of Lingbi Rock Retreat Collection, recently sold in Poly Hong Kong, 10th October 2022, lot 3230.

The present figure was previously in the collection of Mr Jay I. Kislak, an American real estate magnate, philanthropist and art collector with diverse interests ranging from books and manuscripts, impressionist, contemporary art to Tang sancai wares.

唐三彩生肖像頗為少見，特別是施藍釉者。參考一件唐三彩肖鼠像，藍彩頭，栗色袍，1981年11月6日售於紐約蘇富比，拍品編號142。 另可比較一組四件三彩生肖跪像，出土於揚州，見《考古》，北京，1985，編號9，圖版6，其中圖二便有一件肖雞像。

此品曾為美國房地產大亨、慈善家兼藝術收藏家 Jay I. Kislak 所收藏。 Kislak 先生的收藏品種類繁多，涵蓋書籍、手稿、印象派、當代藝術以及唐代三彩瓷器。