What material are most of these carved from?

Wood is the largest group, roughly a third of listings: hardwood, boxwood, giltwood and lacquered figures. Stone and hardstone follow at around a quarter, taking in soapstone, jade, jadeite and agate. Bronze and metal make up about one in ten, from gilt bronze Guanyin to cloisonné enamel. Pottery appears as a minority tail of tomb figures, roof tiles and plaques.

How old are Chinese sculptures on the market?

The dated field runs from 1750 to 1930. The earliest dated entry is a wooden medicine figure of about 1750. Most carry a century band rather than a year. "19th Century" is the commonest single entry, then "1900s", with a smaller group of decade-level dates. Twelve listings sit before 1700, where dealers have attributed pieces to the Ming, Han and Tang.

Why are foo dogs sold in pairs?

They were made as guardians and set out flanking an entrance, so pairs are how they were produced and how they still come to market. Pairs account for one title in seven across the category, and the pairing is nearly always guardian animals: foo dogs, temple lions, water buffalo, horses, elephants and phoenix birds.

Does size make much difference?

It is the most advertised attribute after the carving itself. "Large" qualifies a good sixth of titles, and "monumental" appears on several of the top-of-range samples. Weight is quoted only occasionally, and then on the heavy end: a pair of temple lions at 35kg, a gilt bronze Guanyin at 5.4kg.

Are any Chinese sculptures signed by a maker?

No carver, workshop or foundry name comes through this archive. These pieces are described by material, subject, period and scale instead. What you get in place of a name is the dynastic label. "Dynasty" appears in thirty titles, with Qing and Ming the two used most.

Which unusual pieces turn up?

One-offs recur at the edges: a red coral fishman holding a fish, a pair of immortals in buffalo horn, a bamboo head-rest pair, a sancai roof ridge tile. Exotic stones surface by name once or twice each, among them chicken-blood stone, Laos Tianhuang, shoushan, bowenite serpentine and hetian jade.

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Antique Chinese Sculptures

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Free-standing Chinese figures carved in wood and stone or cast in bronze: deities, immortals, sages and guardian animals made for temples, household shrines, the scholar's desk and, from the 18th century on, the export trade.