A RARE SET OF FOUR PAINTED RED POTTERY BEARDED POLO PLAYERS

TANG DYNASTY

Details

A RARE SET OF FOUR PAINTED RED POTTERY BEARDED POLO PLAYERS
Tang Dynasty
Each horse modeled charging at full gallop with outstretched fore and hind legs, turning its head slightly to one side, variously colored siena, black and deep purple, the riders with bristly beards, indicating their Central Asian origins, leaning over to one side as if reaching to strike the ball, the faces penciled in black pigments, each wearing a red double-breasted coat with green lapels, beards restored
13in. (34cm.) long (4)

Sale room notice

All four horses and riders modified.

Lot Essay

Although foreigners played an important role in Tang dynasty China and are depicted in their many guises in the art of the period, it is unusual to see a foreign polo player. For a similar bearded figure and a discussion of the playing of polo in China, see the example from the Schloss Collection included in the exhibition, Power and Virtue, The Horse in Chinese Art, China Institute Gallery, New York, 11 September - 13 December, 1997, Catalogue no. 12.

The result of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminsecence test no. C198t70 is consistent with the dating of this lot.