Page 200 - Bonhams Fine Chinese Art London Nov. 2019

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A MASSIVE PAINTED POTTERY MODEL OF A HORSE
Tang Dynasty
Naturalistically modelled in mid-stride on a rectangular plinth with a
gracefully arched neck and a proud face conveying an alert expression
detailed with bulging eyes set below a split forelock and pricked ears,
pronounced jaw bones and flaring nostrils, the short tail neatly cropped
and the saddle hanging over a draped blanket, the anatomy well rendered
with muscular legs, covered overall with rich red and orange pigments.
87cm (37 1/4in) high.

£40,000 - 60,000
CNY350,000 - 530,000

唐 陶胎彩繪馬俑

The result of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test
no. C105j8, dated 24 March 2005, is consistent with the dating of
this lot.

Oxford Authentication Ltd公司熱釋光檢測結果（2005年3月24日，
編號C105j8）顯示年代與本拍品年代一致。

Notable for its impressive size and naturalistically modelled in a forward the reward for military invasions and the foundation of imperial solidity.
moving posture with long muscular legs, pricked ears and alert Galloping horses involved in the game of polo graced the tomb walls
expression, this massive horse, unusual for his red pigments, conveys of Prince Zhang Guai (654-684 AD) in Xian, Shaanxi Province, and
a remarkable sense of realism which characteristics the highest military parades including horses were depicted on the tomb walls of
standards achieved in the sculptural production of the Tang dynasty. Princess Yongtai (684–701 AD) and Prince Yide (682–701 AD) also
excavated in Xian.
The powerful sculpture would have been commissioned for internment
in a burial belonging to an elite member of the Tang society, and Thoroughbred horses were traded with neighbouring Arab nations
together with a vast array of furnishing in the form of other animal for silk from as early as the Han dynasty and gradually replaced
figures, courtiers, entertainers and food and drink vessels, contributed to the sturdier steppe ponies indigenous to China. In 636, the Taizong
sustain the tomb occupant in their afterlife. For reference see J.Rawson, emperor (r.599-649 AD) commissioned the manufacturing of six stone
‘The Power of Images: The Model Universe of The First Emperor and Its sculptures, each representing one of his favourite horses, which he
Legacy’, Historical Research, 2002, vol.75, no.188, pp.123-54. selected from the military victories that brought him to power, and even
composed a laudatory poem for each of these horses.
The frequency and exceptional sculptural quality of pottery horses
dating to the Tang dynasty testifies to the importance attributed to the Two closely comparable grey pottery figures of walking horses,
animal by contemporary society. Horses represented high status and Tang dynasty, both covered in polychrome pigments and similar in
wealth as only the nobility and the imperial household were allowed to proportions to the present horse, are illustrated by V.Choi, Horses
ride them. The creatures were also employed in recreational activities for Eternity. Terracotta Equestrian Tomb Sculpture of Dynastic China,
involving dancing, polo and hunting and finally, they were considered Hong Kong, 2007, nos.96 and 99, pp.224, 226, 230-231.

For details of the charges payable in addition to the final Hammer Price of each Lot
198 | BONHAMS please refer to paragraphs 7 & 8 of the Notice to Bidders at the back of the catalogue.