A PAIR OF SQUARE-SECTIONED PAINTED GRAY POTTERY JARS AND COVERS


Han dynastyEach formed with a faceted neck and body of pear shape raised on a tall flared foot, two of the sides painted in muted colors with a bird-like dragon and the other sides with a taotie mask and ring handle below a band of blades, the pyramidal covers painted en suite. 21 3/4in (55.3cm) high
|ProvenanceChristie's, New York, 19 March 2008, lot 506A similar square-sectioned gray pottery covered jar was one of thousands of objects excavated in 1972 from the Western Han tomb of Lady Dai (given name possibly Xing Zhui), wife of the Li Cai, Marquis of Dai (died 186 BCE) at Mawangdui, Changsha. See Geng Baochang, Zhong guo wen wu jing hua da quan: Tao ci juan (Taibei, Taiwan shang wu yin shu guan gong si, 1993), p. 80, no. 286 (37.5cm high).