A PAINTED BUFF POTTERY HORSE AND SADDLE

Details

A PAINTED BUFF POTTERY HORSE AND SADDLE
TANG DYNASTY

Well proportioned and well modeled in a spirited pose with right front leg raised, the head turned to the left and the mouth open, with a channel for the mane and a socket for the tail, traces of red and black pigment on the head and reddish-orange pigment on the hoofs, the saddle painted in black line with foliate decoration reserved on a yellowish-cream ground and with black wash around the sides and edges, some restoration
21¼in. (54cm.) high

Lot Essay

A very similar horse without a saddle was discovered in the tomb of Li Siben, who died in 675, but whose tomb was not completed until 709. See Kaogu, 1986, no. 5, p. 439, fig. 16. An example with a saddle is illustrated by R.L. Hobson in The George Eumorfopoulos Collection Catalogue, vol. I, London, 1925, pl. XXXII, no. 234. Compare, also, a similar horse without a saddle sold in these rooms, March 28, 1996, lot 307