唐 三彩加藍臥牛
An Extremely Rare Blue, Straw And Amber-Glazed Buffalo, Tang Dynasty
思源堂舊藏（拍賣於蘇富比倫敦2020年11月4日，拍品234，成交價138,600英鎊）
尺寸：寬19.3厘米（7⅝英寸）
描述：此臥牛以自然主義風格塑造，姿態細膩而生動。牛身一腿彎曲、一腿伸展，呈臥伏姿勢，頭部微微左轉上仰，身體肌肉緊繃，脊椎線條流暢且富有力量，尾巴輕輕搭於後腿上。全身以鮮亮的藍釉覆蓋，局部呈深靛藍色，並輔以禾秆釉點綴；底座則以琥珀釉和藍釉裝飾。
來源：思源堂收藏
年代鑑定：本件作品的年代與牛津熱釋光測試結果一致（測試編號：C111n23）。
拍品評述：
此臥牛以精湛的塑造技藝及鮮亮的藍釉令人印象深刻，生動展現出牛的內在力量與溫和性情。作為隨葬明器的陶塑傳統源遠流長，此作品精細的造型及深邃的藍釉正是唐代開放且富於冒險精神的國際化特徵的體現。
臥牛造型的陶俑極為罕見，主要原因有二：首先，陶塑水牛的立姿造型較為常見，通常描繪其用於拉車的形象；而臥姿則更加突顯其閒適的田園特質，這一風格在宋代（960–1279年）更為普及。其次，作品中使用了極為珍稀的鈷藍釉，鈷氧化物當時需從中亞進口，價格極其昂貴。極少數動物陶俑以鈷藍釉裝飾，這也顯示出其擁有者的顯赫身份與財富。
唐代是中國陶瓷藝術史上最豐富多彩的篇章之一。這一時期陶工突破材料極限，將陶器視為藝術品。從漢代（公元前206–公元220年）起，釉陶器具、動物及日常物品已成為隨葬品，但主要作為珍貴物品的替代品供逝者享用。至唐代，這類雕塑與器具的顏色和裝飾愈加奢華，成為身份與財富的象徵。像此件臥牛般的雕塑由貴族與皇室家族特別訂製，並在北方都城的葬禮遊行中展示，以炫耀財富與地位。
參考：
類似但以綠釉為主的臥牛一對，曾展於香港藝術館1995-6年舉辦的「追求古物展」，編號85。
一件三彩釉臥伏神獸藏於奈良天理參考館，著錄於威廉·沃森（William Watson）著《唐與遼陶瓷》（倫敦，1984年），第230頁。
一件藍釉站姿水牛載童陶塑，展於1989年倫敦國際陶瓷展，見阿倫與西蒙·哈特曼（Alan and Simon Hartman）收藏的唐三彩陶器展覽圖錄，編號15。
美國華盛頓弗利爾博物館（Freer Gallery of Art）亦藏有一件站姿藍釉牛，館藏編號F1949.26，並公示於該館網站。
另有一件站姿藍釉驢陶俑，藏於西安陝西歷史博物館。
弗利爾博物館（Freer Gallery of Art）亦藏有一件站姿藍釉牛，館藏編號F1949.26
Auction Closed
November 5, 04:52 AM JST
Estimate
80,000 - 120,000 GBP
Lot Sold
138,600 GBP
TANG SANCAI - THE SZE YUAN TANG COLLECTION
思源堂舊藏唐三彩珍品
AN EXTREMELY RARE BLUE, STRAW AND AMBER-GLAZED BUFFALO
TANG DYNASTY
唐 三彩加藍臥牛
naturalistically modelled as a recumbent buffalo resting on a bent leg and the other stretched out, with its head turned slightly upwards to the left, the body defined by taut muscles and a strong curved spine terminating in a tail sweeping over its rear haunches, covered overall in vibrant blue glaze pooling to deep indigo tones with straw-glazed highlights, resting on an amber and blue-glazed base
Width 19.3 cm, 7⅝ in.
Provenance
思源堂收藏
Catalogue Note
The dating of this lot is consistent with the result of a thermoluminescence test, Oxford authentication Ltd., no. C111n23.
Covered in a brilliant blue glaze, this figure of a buffalo is impressive for the naturalistic and sophisticated modelling of its body and pose, which capture the inner strength and gentle nature of the animal. Stemming from a long tradition of producing ceramic sculptures to be housed in tombs, its fine modelling and deep blue glaze encapsulates the adventurous and international spirit of the dynasty.
It is a particularly rare example of sancai animal sculpture for two main reasons: its reclining pose is seldom found among extant examples of ceramic buffaloes. Traditionally a domestic animal associated with agriculture, figures of buffaloes were more commonly made standing and at times harnessed, as they were used to draw carts. The reclining pose, on the other hand captures the animal’s bucolic character and evokes the essence of life in the countryside, concepts that became more prevalent in the later Song dynasty (960-1279). This figure is also rare for its use of cobalt oxide, which at the time was extremely expensive as it was imported from Central Asia. Very few ceramic sculptures of animals are known covered in cobalt, and its use on this piece attest to the wealth of its owner.
The Tang dynasty represents one of the richest chapters in the history of ceramic art in China, when potters tested the limits of the medium and ceramic wares began to be considered as an art form. When glazed pottery vessels, animals and objects of daily life first became popular burial furnishings in the Han dynasty (206 BC- AD 220), they were conceived as humble reproductions of valuable items that would serve the deceased in the afterlife. In the Tang dynasty, these sculptures and vessels became increasingly rich in their colouration and ornamentation, as they became symbolic of status and wealth. Sculptures such as the present were commissioned by aristocratic and royal families, and were paraded through the metropolitan centres of north China during funeral processions. Hence the blue glaze of the present piece would have revealed its owner’s wealth both to the spirits, and to those participating in the funeral procession.
While the majority of Tang tomb sculptures show a certain level of standardisation, depictions of reclining buffaloes are rare, and only a pair of closely related buffaloes, but glazed predominantly in green, appears to be known: they were included in the Min Chiu Society exhibition In Pursuit of Antiquities, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1995-6, cat. no. 85. See also a reclining sancai-glazed mythical beast, in the collection of the Tenri Sankokan Museum, Nara, illustrated in William Watson, Tang and Liao Ceramics, London, 1984, p. 230.
A standing blue-glazed buffalo with a boy on its back was included in the exhibition Tang Sancai Pottery. Selected from the Collection of Alan And Simon Hartman, The International Ceramics Fair and Seminar, London, 1989, cat. no. 15; another in the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., accession no. F1949.26, is published on the Museum’s website: accession no. F1949.26; and a standing blue-glazed donkey is in the Shaanxi History Museum, Xi’an.
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