A CHINESE GREEN-GLAZED POTTERY DOG, HAN DYNASTY (206 BC-220 AD)

Height: 24.2 cm.
Width: 27.3 cm.

The green-glazed dog stands foursquare with its head raised. The face is well-modeled with bulging eyes, ears curled forward and alert, its open mouth reveals fangs and a lolling tongue. Double straps around the neck and chest join in a loop at the back. The tail curls up to one side, and the short feet have pointed toes. The entire dog is covered in a green glaze, which has become iridescent in areas.

A very similar green-glazed dog is illustrated in Kandai no bijutsu, pl. 135; a brown-glazed one is illustrated in Hobson's Eumorfopulos Collection Catalogue, vol. 1, pl. IX, no. 63; and another was included in the O.C.S. Exhibition, "Iron in the Fire," Oxford, 1988, cat. no.9. Compare also with the similar dogs in the Tokyo National Museum, illustrated in the Catalogue of Chinese Ceramics I, Tokyo, 1988, no. 130; and in the Idemitsu Museum illustrated in the 15th Anniversary Catalogue, Tokyo, 1981, no. 393.

During the Han Dynasty, dogs of various types were frequently placed in tombs. This type of short-legged mastiff with ringed harness and open mouth appears to have been very popular.

PROVENANCE
Private collection, Belgium