A RARE POTTERY FIGURE OF A FOREIGN GROOM, TANG DYNASTY

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A RARE POTTERY FIGURE OF A FOREIGN GROOM, TANG DYNASTY Scientific Analysis Report: A thermoluminescence analysis report issued by Oxford Authentication on 25 August 2026, based on sample no. C126m13, dates the last firing to between 900 and 1,500 years ago. All three samples yielded similar results, consistent with the suggested period of manufacture. Expert’s note The present figure is distinguished by its striking pose and the finely observed modeling of its hair, features, and dress. The raised right arm and extended forefinger establish a strong diagonal, reinforced by the uplifted head and intent gaze, while the bent left arm and firmly planted feet lend balance to the animated composition. The groom appears caught in a moment of purposeful action, as if signaling to an animal or colleague beyond the confines of the sculpture. Particular attention has been devoted to the hair, its densely worked curls and longer locks descending behind the ears lending texture and individuality to the expressive face. The carefully articulated costume, with turned-back lapels, raised fastenings, and a belted tunic opening over trousers and boots, further enhances the figure’s vivid sense of presence. China, 618-907. Standing firmly upon an integral rectangular base in an animated pose, the foreign groom raising his right arm high with the index finger extended, while his left hand is clenched at his side. His head is turned upward, the expressive almost grotesque face detailed with deep-set eyes, a broad nose, full lips, and prominent cheekbones, framed by tightly curled hair with long side locks. He wears a foreign-style, close-fitting tunic with broad lapels and a row of fastenings down the front, secured at the waist and opening below into divided skirts over trousers and high boots. Dimensions: Height 54.5 cm With a fitted silk box. (2) Figures of this kind offer a compelling insight into life during the prosperous Tang dynasty and the far-reaching cultural exchanges fostered by the Silk Roads. They evoke the cosmopolitan atmosphere of Chang’an, where foreign merchants, envoys, and artisans contributed to the capital’s extraordinary diversity. Prominent among these communities were the Sogdians, an Iranian-speaking people associated with the great trading cities of Samarkand and Bukhara. Their commercial networks connected China with Central Asia and the Iranian world, while their involvement in the breeding and trading of horses brought them into close association with an animal central to Tang military power and aristocratic life. The employment of foreign grooms was a well-established feature of this international society. Margaret Medley notes that it was fashionable in the seventh and eighth centuries to employ attendants from several Central Asian peoples, including ‘Khorezmians, Sogdians, Uighurs and Turks’, as well as Iranians; see T’ang Pottery and Porcelain, London, 1979, p. 54. A seated foreigner illustrating this broader sculptural tradition appears in the same publication, p. 56, pl. 47. A further example, a green- and amber-glazed standing groom from the Mr. and Mrs. Ezekiel Schloss Collection, is illustrated by E. Schloss in Foreigners in Ancient Chinese Art, China Institute, New York, 1969, pl. 6. Literature comparison: Compare a closely related painted pottery figure of a foreign groom, dated to the Tang dynasty, 7th-8th century, 56 cm high, at Ben Janssens Oriental Art. Compare a related smaller painted pottery figure of a textile merchant, dated to the Tang dynasty, 24 cm high, in the Georges Labit Museum, accession number 76 2 2.

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