拍賣筆記 vol.346 佳士得紐約2026：36.83萬美元售出，唐彩繪描金天王像（神將）一對，馬克思·貝里收藏 - Christie’s NY 2026, Max N. Berry, A Pair Of Large Gilt-Decorated And Painted Pottery Figures Of Guardians, Sold for US$368,300

作品兼具顏值、稀缺性、工藝與學術價值，在中國古代陶俑領域屬頂尖層級。1980 至 1990 年代，此類大型彩繪天王主要為西方與日本博物館及資深藏家所收藏。近日，東京靜嘉堂文庫美術館舉辦「たたかう仏像」（Battling Buddhist Images）特展，首次公開其所藏大型唐代彩繪與三彩神將俑，並與日本鎌倉時代重要文化財《十二神將立像》並置展出，清晰呈現唐代神將形象對日本佛教藝術的影響。

這場展覽幫助藏家重新理解唐代彩繪武士像：它們不僅是「鎮墓天王」，更是東亞佛教中的「神將」（Divine Generals），既守護墓室，也承載護法救濟的宗教功能。敦煌唐代壁畫與彩塑中的天王形象，與此類陶俑風格高度一致，共同構成唐代神將造像傳統。透過靜嘉堂展覽，此類作品從單純的墓葬明器，提升至東亞佛教守護神體系的重要組成，為其藝術與文化價值增添深層維度，也為市場提供了更強的溢價支撐。本次以 36.83 萬美元成交，實至名歸，標誌著國際市場對唐代藝術的認知正走向更全面的階段。

博古精鑑：Max N. Berry珍藏

唐 彩繪描金天王像一對

TANG DYNASTY (AD 618-907)

成交價

美元 368,300

估價

美元 120,000 – 美元 180,000

The taller: 37 ½ in. (95.3 cm) high

來源

懷古堂，紐約，1999年3月26日

出版

《懷古堂》期刊，紐約，1999年春，頁184–187及頁304–305，編號57

展覽

紐約，懷古堂，「In the Company of Spirits」，1999年3月16日至4月17日

Collector/Connoisseur: The Max N. Berry Collections

A MAGNIFICENT PAIR OF LARGE GILT-DECORATED AND PAINTED POTTERY FIGURES OF GUARDIANS

TANG DYNASTY (AD 618-907)

Estimate

USD 120,000 – USD 180,000

Price realised

USD 368,300

TANG DYNASTY (AD 618-907)

The taller: 37 ½ in. (95.3 cm) high

PROVENANCE

Kaikodo, New York, 26 March 1999.

LITERATURE

Kaikodo Journal, New York, Spring 1999, pp. 184-87 and pp. 304-5, no. 57.

EXHIBITED

New York, Kaikodo, In the Company of Spirits, 16 March-17 April 1999.

As noted in the introductory essay by Rosemary Scott, this pair of spectacular figures of guardians is remarkable for the preservation of the vibrantly painted colors on the garments and the lavish gilding. The tunics and sleeves are boldly painted with luxurious floral designs, in red, blue, green, black and white, along with patterns imitating armor. The designs on the back of the figures are as striking as those on the front, and the combination of the richly designed decorative motifs and the top quality of the molding indicate that these figures were created for a person of great rank and importance. The figures are seen confidently standing on top of a deer and a bull, each with finely rendered musculature and facial features. Very few pairs of painted pottery guardians of this size and quality have survived. A painted pottery guardian figure, elaborately armored but of smaller size (71.1 cm.) than the present figures, is in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, and is illustrated in The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: A Handbook of the Collection, New York, 1993, p. 293. Another elaborate, but smaller (61 and 55 cm.) pair of painted pottery and gilt guardian figures is illustrated by R. Jacobsen in Celestial Horses and Long Sleeve Dancers, The David W. Dewey Collection of Ancient Chinese Tomb Sculpture, Minneapolis, 2013, pp. 248-49.

Pairs of painted pottery figures of this type, as well as sancai-glazed examples, were placed in the entry corridor of tombs. They were accompanied by pairs of officials and pairs of earth spirits, as evidenced by the location of such figures in the previously undisturbed Tang dynasty tomb of General An Pu discovered at Longmen, Luoyang (See R.L. Thorp, Son of Heaven: Imperial Art of China, Seattle, 1988, pp. 199-205). They are generally modeled with fierce scowling expressions and threatening stances, and they carry on the tradition of the massive stone guardian figures (lishi) that were positioned at the entrances to cave-shrines during the Tang dynasty.

For a large (123 cm.) and imposing sancai figure of this type shown standing on a recumbent bull, see the example illustrated in The Tsui Museum of Art - Chinese Ceramics I: Neolithic to Liao, Hong Kong, 1993, pl. 119. See, also, a pair of massive (103 and 96 cm.) sancai pottery guardian figures sold at Christie’s New York, 29 October 2019, lot 1008.

The result of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test no. C198t32 is consistent with the dating of this lot.