Lot Essay
These three figures are closely related to the well-known group of four female polo players in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, referred to in Handbook of the Collections, vol. II, Art of the Orient, Kansas City, 1973, p. 81
A group of unglazed red pottery equestrian tomb figures including polo players is said to have been excavated in Luoyang. One male player and one female are illustrated in Qin Yanyu, Zhongquo gudai taosu yishu, Shanghai, 1955, pl. 37. They are naturalistic and lively in their modelling. A similar female polo player is in the Tenri Museum in Japan, illustrated by Hasebe and Sato, Sekai toji zenshu, vol. 11, Tokyo, 1976, pl. 183. Another in the Cleveland Museum of Art wears a tall hat; refer to Jennifer Neils, ed., The World of Ceramics, Cleveland, 1982, no. 96.
Compare also two similar examples sold in these rooms, November 9, 1978,
The result of Oxford thermoluminescence test no. 566p1 is consistent with the dating of this lot
A group of unglazed red pottery equestrian tomb figures including polo players is said to have been excavated in Luoyang. One male player and one female are illustrated in Qin Yanyu, Zhongquo gudai taosu yishu, Shanghai, 1955, pl. 37. They are naturalistic and lively in their modelling. A similar female polo player is in the Tenri Museum in Japan, illustrated by Hasebe and Sato, Sekai toji zenshu, vol. 11, Tokyo, 1976, pl. 183. Another in the Cleveland Museum of Art wears a tall hat; refer to Jennifer Neils, ed., The World of Ceramics, Cleveland, 1982, no. 96.
Compare also two similar examples sold in these rooms, November 9, 1978,
The result of Oxford thermoluminescence test no. 566p1 is consistent with the dating of this lot