SUI/EARLY TANG DYNASTY, 6TH-7TH CENTURY

Details

A RARE OLIVE-GLAZED AND PAINTED RED POTTERY FIGURE OF A CAPARISONED HORSE
SUI/EARLY TANG DYNASTY, 6TH-7TH CENTURY
Finely modeled standing foursquare on a shaped rectangular base, the face well modeled with sensitive features and a crisp florette-applied halter below pricked ears, the mane shown in long segments on one side of the neck, with a band of tufted ornaments spanning the base of the neck, and a long fringed cloth covering the saddle that falls below the edge of the orange-painted saddle blanket molded in front with stirrups, with further finely detailed straps stretching from the back of the saddle across the rump to the long tail that falls to the base, covered in an olive glaze, with unglazed areas painted in orangy red and black pigment
23¼ in. (59.1 cm.) high

Provenance

Gisèle Croës, Brussels, 1985.

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Lot Essay

The Tang nobility were legendary for their love of horses, so much so that the court passed a law in 667 that allowed only members of the elite to ride. Noble families might own literally thousands of horses, with different types for use in the cavalry, for hunting and polo. The figures of horses found in Tang dynasty tombs reflect not only how highly prized horses were in China, but also the diversity of type of horse as well as the diversity of trappings being copied. Horses similar to the present figure, made of red pottery and partially covered with an olive-green glaze appear to be quite rare. Compare the horse of slightly smaller size (43.2 cm. long), dated Sui dynasty, offered in these rooms, 27 November 1991, lot 266. The trappings seen on both of these horses are similar to those seen on a straw-glazed pottery horse, dated Sui dynasty, illustrated in Mayuyama, Seventy Years, vol. 1, Tokyo, 1976, no. 189.

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