Page 27 - Bonhams Asian Art London November 5, 2020

The powerful sculpture would have been commissioned for internment
in a burial belonging to an elite member of the Tang society, and
together with a vast array of furnishing in the form of other animal
figures, courtiers, entertainers and food and drink vessels, contributed
to sustain the tomb occupant in their afterlife. For reference see
J.Rawson, ‘The Power of Images: The Model Universe of The First
Emperor and Its Legacy’, Historical Research, 2002, vol.75, no.188,
pp.123-154. Horses represented high status and wealth as only
the nobility and the Imperial household were allowed to ride them.
The creatures were also employed in recreational activities involving
dancing, polo and hunting and finally, they were considered the reward
for military invasions and the foundation of Imperial solidity.

Two comparable grey pottery walking horses, Tang dynasty, both
covered in polychrome pigments, are illustrated by V.Choi, Horses
for Eternity: Terracotta Equestrian Tomb Sculpture of Dynastic China,
Hong Kong, 2007, nos.96 and 99, pp.224, 226, 230-231.

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