A WELL-MODELED PAINTED GRAY POTTERY FIGURE OF A HORSE

Details

A WELL-MODELED PAINTED GRAY POTTERY FIGURE OF A HORSE
HAN DYNASTY

The powerful, long-legged horse modeled in a spirited attitude standing foursquare and with head facing alertly forward on the strong, gracefully arched neck, the mouth pierced for a bit, and with sockets for detachable ears, the separate tail fitting into a socket in the rump, the body knife-pared to create a crisp outline and well painted in red and orange with a harness, tassel-hung chest and rump straps and a patterned blanket laid across the back, all on a ground of white slip (some repair)
18¼in. (46.3cm.) high

Lot Essay

This horse is of early Western Han type, like those unearthed at Yangjiawan, near Xianyang, Shaanxi province. Burials containing large numbers of mounted cavalrymen and foot soldiers were found in the vicinity of the tombs for the first Han emperor Jingdi at Yangjiawan. See Wenwu 1966:3, pl. 1-5 and Wenwu 1977:10, col. pl. 1. Compare, also, a similar red-painted horse sold in these rooms, June 3, 1988, lot 126

The result of Oxford thermoluminescence test no. 766j20 is consistent with the dating of this lot