A SMALL SANCAI GLAZED TWIN-FISH FLASK, TANG DYNASTY

拍品描述

A SMALL SANCAI GLAZED TWIN-FISH FLASK, TANG DYNASTY China, 618-709. The body composed of two carp facing each other with further animal heads on theirs, rising from a flared foot to a tapering neck emerging from the fishes’ gaping jaws. Overall covered in a green glaze with the eyes in amber and creamy splashes, stooping irregularly above the foot to reveal the buff ware. Dimensions: Height 9.5 cm The twin-fish form is particularly rich in auspicious meaning. The word for fish, yu (魚), is homophonous with yu (餘), meaning ‘surplus’ or ‘abundance’, so that the paired fish express a doubled wish for enduring plenty and harmonious union. The identification of the fish as carp, li (鯉), carried an additional resonance during the Tang dynasty through its homophony with Li (李), the surname of the imperial house, lending the motif a distinctly dynastic association. Fashioned as a vessel for wine, the form was sufficiently familiar to be evoked by the Tang poet Bai Juyi in his reference to a ‘twin-fish wine vessel’ (shuangyu ke), attesting to its place within the material and literary culture of the period. Literature comparison: Compare two twin-fish flasks, one illustrated in the Tang Sancai Heibonsha Series, Japan, 1977, no. 34.; the other in R. Hirano ed., Kotoken senka, Osaka, 1988, p. 87. Compare a sancai-glazed twin fish vase, dated to the Tang dynasty, 8th century, 24.3 cm high, in the Victoria & Albert Museum, accession number C.88-1939. Auction result comparison: Type: Related Auction: Christie’s New York, 21 March 2002, lot 121 Price: USD 21,150 or approx. EUR 34,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Expert remark: Compare the related form, twin fish motif, and sancai glaze. Note the larger size (18 cm).

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