Page 136 - September 23 to 24 Important Chinese Art Christie's NYC

THE PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN
827
A LARGE SANCAI-GLAZED POTTERY HORSE
TANG DYNASTY (AD 618-907)
The horse is shown standing foursquare on a rectangular base with its head turned
slightly to the left and mouth open. Its mane, tail, and central forelock between pricked
ears are covered with a cream glaze. The body is glazed in rich amber and cream glazes
that drip down the legs to the cream-glazed hoofs. The saddle is glazed green, and the
bridle and harness are decorated with large scrolling foliate appliques.
21 in. (53.3 cm.) high
$80,000-120,000
PROVENANCE:
Christie's New York, 23 March 1995, lot 341.
The present sancai horse is exceptionally well-modelled, revealing the technical
accomplishment and stylistic maturity of Chinese ceramic sculpture at the peak of the
Tang dynasty. The figure is likely represents one of the breed of magnificent Ferghana
horses imported from Central Asia, and immortalized in Chinese literature and the
visual arts. The horse itself was a potent image during the vigorous expansion of the
Tang ‘golden age’, a symbol of aristocratic wealth and power.
In style and subject matter, the present horse with sancai or ‘three-color’ glaze was
developed during the seventh century when Tang artisans experimented with sancai glazes,
creating a lively spectrum of green, amber, and yellow over a creamy-white ground. The
distribution of glaze on this current horse displays an unusually high degree of control.
Comparable examples of sancai-glazed horses are illustrated in Chinese Ceramics in
the Idemitsu Collection, Tokyo, 1987, nos. 375-78, and by J. Baker, Seeking Immortality:
Chinese Tomb Sculpture from the Schloss Collection, 1996, p. 44, no. 34.
The result of Oxford thermoluminescence test no. 666w8 is consistent with the dating
of this lot.

私人珍藏
唐 三彩陶馬
來源:
紐約佳士得, 1995年3月23日, 拍品編號341。
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