*THIS ITEM WEIGHS 3475 GRAMS WITHOUT PACKAGING, PLEASE SCROLL TO THE END OF THIS LISTING FOR SHIPPING DETAILS AND UPGRADES.
This listing is for a Chinese Tang sancai glaze lion ornament made around 50 years ago. It is made of low-fired porcelain clay and is decorated with amber, green and blue glaze. Ancient sancai tomb figures were excavated from Tang Tomb No. 90 of Xi'an Royal Tombs, and the reliquary at the base of Qingshan Temple in Shaanxi Province. Colourful funerary figures fired with lead glaze were placed in tombs to serve and protect in the afterlife. Among these figures were pairs of lions. The lion in this listing is a replica of a lion raising its hind leg as if to scratch itself or bite at fleas. The rock-like pedestal on which the lion sits is said to represent 'the formality of being appointed as a guardian', which is connected to Buddhist thought. The glaze work is rich in colour and the different colours have come together beautifully during the firing process. This piece belonged to a retired businessman in the Tokyo area. He had business relations in China and received this back in the 1970s from a Chinese business associate. Replicas were often buried in the soil to make them look older, this one still has some soil residue in places, particularly around the base.
Sancai glaze refers to three colour glazed pieces dating back to the Tang dynasty in China (618-907). Low-fired pieces made of kaolin white clay were coated in lead glazes which allowed different colours to flow together during the firing process. Sancai pieces were often green, yellow and white, however other three-colour combinations existed such as amber, green and blue. Sancai glaze reached Japan during the Nara period and is known locally as ‘Nara Sansai’ glaze.
Size
H.32.8cm (12.9”) x 15.7cm (6.1”) across x 15.5cm (6.1”) back to front
Condition
There are two large chips on the base on the white unglazed parts, which helps them to blend in. There are also some minor firing cracks and surface/glaze imperfections here and there, as well as soil residue in some of the glazed parts, more so on the base, particularly inside.
THESE ARE SHIPPING ESTIMATES BASED ON THE CURRENT GLOBAL SITUATION
**Germany, France, Greece, Spain, Poland, Austria, Slovakia, Lithuania, Slovenia: NO SHIPPING. Very strict and expensive packaging laws in place and we are not licensed to send products to these countries. We have no plan to register at this time because the process is in some cases very expensive and complicated, plus each country has its own set of regulations and application process.
**USA: SAL Sea Mail (approx. 11-12 weeks), an upgrade for EMS Express (10-15 days) available for an additional 10,200 yen. Combined shipping available (please send us a message) but please note that the price does not get cheaper for Airmail or EMS, in fact it becomes more expensive. If you want to save money and don't mind a very long 3 month wait, request sea mail (11-12 weeks depending on processing and backlogs at destination ports).
**UK , Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Norway: SAL Sea Mail (approx. 8-12 weeks depending on the destination), an upgrade for EMS Express (10-15 days) available for an additional 8550 yen. Combined shipping available (please send us a message) but please note that the price does not get cheaper for EMS, in fact it becomes more expensive. If you want to save money and don't mind a very long 3 month wait, request sea mail (11-12 weeks depending on processing and backlogs at destination ports).
**Asia: SAL Sea Mail (approx. 6-8 weeks), an upgrade for EMS Express (7-10 days) available for an additional 3650 yen.
**Russia: No shipping methods available.
