Lot Essay
Stylistically, the present horse is similar to one unearthed in Cixian, Hebei province in 1979 from the tomb of an Eastern Wei princess of the Ruru nationality. See Wenwu, 1984:4, pl. 5, fig. 2, and p. 6, fig. 7, no. 3, for a line drawing of the horse. Compare, also, two other similar Eastern Wei horses shown standing foursquare, one in the Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Harvard University, illustrated by V. Bower and R. Mowry, From Court to Caravan: Chinese Tomb Sculptures from the Collection of Anthony M. Solomon, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2002, p. 92, no. 19: and one included in Early Dynastic China: Works of Art from Shang to Song, J. J. Lally & Co., New York, 26 March - 26 April 1996, no. 5. Another comparable Eastern Wei horse shown standing foursquare, from the collection of Mr. and Mrs. James E. Breece, III, sold in these rooms, 18 September 2003, lot 201.
The result of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test no. C102z59 is consistent with dating of this lot.
The result of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test no. C102z59 is consistent with dating of this lot.