TANG DYNASTY (AD 618-907)

This impressively large and powerfully modeled horse captures the spirit of this celebrated animal and reveals the technical accomplishment and stylistic maturity of Chinese ceramic sculpture at the peak of the Tang dynasty. The most magnificent horses, immortalized in Chinese literature and the visual arts, were the Ferghana horses introduced into central China from the West during the Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 220). These horses were known for their speed, power and stamina, and were sometimes referred to as ‘thousand li horses’, after the belief that they were able to cover a thousand li in a single day. These horses were not just war horses or horses used for transport, but were also employed in leisure activities such as polo.

The present horse is beautifully decorated with a rich, amber-toned glaze, and with a stripe of cream glaze accenting the front of the head. The fitted saddle is covered by a green cloth over a sancai-splashed saddle blanket. The strong neck is turned slightly to the left and the lack of fittings emphasizes the powerful proportions and musculature of the figure. A similarly modeled large Tang horse (76.7 cm.), with head slightly turned and a cloth-covered saddle, with the body covered in an unusual dark blackish-brown glaze, was sold at Christie’s London, 17 June 2003, lot 8.

The result of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test no. C198m10 is consistent with the dating of this figure.