THE LARRY LUCAS COLLECTION OF ASIAN WORKS OF ARTLARRY LUCAS 亞洲藝術收藏Lots 20 to 76Mr Larry Lucas, a British-born businessman, started collecting Asian Art as a university student in the late 1960s in Cambridge. As the co-founder of the Asian Art Institute of Australia, Larry has organised various exhibitions and lectures since 2008, providing platforms for collectors, artists, researchers and scholars, and promoting knowledge and appreciation of Asian art.Larry Lucas 先生出生於英國，早於上世紀六十年代劍橋求學時，即熱衷收藏，至今近半世紀。2008年在悉尼於三五志趣相投的好友成立澳大利亞亞洲藝術協會，多年來舉辦講座、展覽，為當地乃至世界收藏同好、藝術家及學者提供交流平台。






A sancai glazed pottery model of a table of offerings


Ming dynasty21.0 x 21.0 x 16.0cm
|China has a long history of interning funereal goods dating back as early as Neolithic times (about 5000 BC). Burial customs have changed over time as the Chinese society and beliefs change. The emphasis of the custom has shifted from communication between this world and the next in Neolithic cultures, to continuing the lavish lifestyle on earth to the afterlife during the Tang dynasty. As noted by the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, in their Art Gallery Handbook of 1999, 'Pottery models of buildings, horses and other animals, military personnel, servants and courtiers were made to furnish the tombs of rulers and royalty in early China. Thus endowed, the tomb became a replica of the deceased's life on earth. Pottery facsimiles or 'mingqi' have become the most illustrative and evocative images of life in ancient China, as well as a poignant demonstration of the Chinese belief in the afterlife. The production of these pottery models stimulated one of China's most distinctive and unique artistic traditions, which flourished during the Han and Tang dynasties.' During the Ming dynasty however, the custom of construction of an afterlife paved way for the performance of sacrificial rituals. This is evinced by burial objects excavated from some of the Ming tombs, which included miniaturised incense burners, candle stands, flower vessels, and alters of sacrifice such as the present lot. Decorated with foodstuffs including all manner of buns and animal heads, the laden altar would allow the deceased to continue their worship into the afterlife. 明 素三彩供台供器微縮模型華夏民族厚葬的習俗早在仰韶文化即已源起，經歷各種時代隨著社會的發展、改變而改變，側面反映了當時的生活習俗。殯葬的側重由石器時代的守護亡靈到唐代的續人間生活至地下。到了明代，一類以祭祀為功能的微縮模型冥器出現在考古發現中，暗示了喪葬習俗在當時的又一衍變。類似出土的器物包括微模香爐、燭台、花瓶，以及如此件拍品的供桌。