Lark mason senior vice president of sotheby s appraised the item at 250 000 and said he was almost speechless when confronted with the item.
Tang dynasty marble lion sold.
And the location where the item will be sold.
In addition to the cintamanicakra avalokiteshvara figure the important chinese art auction was led by an exceedingly rare and important complete set of the sutra of perfect enlightenment by the qianlong emperor that fetched 2 7 million more than five times its 500 000 high estimate.
A carved marble head of buddha with hair composed of tight coils finely carved facial details serene expression.
The white marble chinese lion was carved between 618 and 907 a d.
The excavations will help scientists better understand freight transport during the tang dynasty said fan.
Tang dynasty 618 906 ad.
Tang dynasty marble lion.
Discovering a tang dynasty 618 907 a d lion in such an unexpected venue however ranks as one of the greatest surprises of my career.
Read appraisal transcript.
On monday june 19 at 8 7c pm on pbs antiques roadshow revisits albuquerque appraisals from 2002 that have been updated with today s market value including.
The white marble material was also rarely seen in north china he added.
Among the tang dynasty carved stone lion figures that have come to the market in recent years this example displays some of the highest quality of carving.
See a very similar figure of a lion formerly in the collection of rolf lord cunliffe 1899 1963 honorary keeper of the far eastern collections at the fitzwilliam museum carved from black stone sold at bonhams london 12 may 2016 sale 23237 lot 16.
In this clip from albuquerque asian arts expert lark mason appraises a tang dynasty marble lion.
A similarly rendered lion can be seen on a smaller scale serving as a the base for a tang dynasty sancai glazed pottery armrest or stand sold at christie s new york 21 march 2002 lot 118.
These are just some of the.
Value 2016 120 000 auction 250 000 insurance.
28 2 kg total 56cm includ.
Mounted on a custom made stand.
Surprise astonishment and disbelief washed over me the moment the owner of a white marble lion walked up to the asian arts table in albuquerque last summer he said.
Ningxia was along the ancient silk road trade route.