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拍品專文
There are several features of this magnificent horse that make it both rare and extremely interesting. In addition to its size and exceptional quality, the horse carries clearly depicted stirrups, part of its forelock is bound into a plume, and its mane has been cut into three crenels (sanhua). It has been suggested by several scholars that horses with crenelated manes were associated with persons of high rank, possibly even with members of the Imperial family. This suggestion is born out by the excavation of a richly caparisoned horse with a mane in this style from the tomb of Crown Prince Zhuang Huai illustrated in Wenwu, 1972:7, p. 15, fig. 3. Zhuang Huai was ordered to commit suicide by his mother Empress Wu Zetian in AD 684, but after his brother Zhongzong came to the throne in 705, Zhang Huai was reinterred in AD 706 with great splendor. Another horse with crenelated mane was excavated from the tomb of the young Crown Prince Yi De (AD 682-701) whose death was also ordered by Empress Wu, op. cit, pl. 9, no. 3. Both the published horses from these princely tombs have three crenels in their manes.
Other richly caparisoned horses with three crenels in their manes, one also having part of its forelock bound as a plume in similar fashion to that of the current horse, are among the steeds excavated in 1957 from the tomb of the famous Tang dynasty General Xianyu Tinghui, who died in AD 723. See Zhongguo meishu quanji; gongyi meishu bian; (2) taoci- zhong, Shanghai, 1988, pp. 65-6, nos. 74 and 75. An unglazed figure of a galloping horse with female polo player with triple crenelated mane in the collection of the Rietberg Museum, Zurich, is illustrated by M. Medley, Tang Pottery & Stoneware, London, 1981, p. 51, fig. 41. See, also, the glazed, dappled horse with crenelated mane and tied forelock in the collection of the Kyoto National Museum illustrated by Masahiko Sato and Gakuji Hasebe, Sekai toji zenshu, vol. 11, Sui and Tang, Tokyo, 1976, pl. 192.
Even more rare than the distinctive mane on the current horse, are the decorative plaques that embellish the harness. Each of these bears a mounted polo player. Polo was a favorite sport at the Tang court and was played by both men and women. It is significant that a spirited polo match, involving more than 20 horsemen is depicted in one of the fine murals in the tomb of Crown Prince Zhanghuai. See The Silk Road - Treasures of Tang China, The Empress Place Museum, Singapore, 1991, p. 74. The mural shows the players using stirrups, which is not always the case for Tang equestrians, but more importantly its appearance in this royal tomb is indicative of the importance of polo at the Tang court of the early 8th century. It was seen not only as an exciting game, but also as excellent training for the young men of the court. Polo was even the subject of a poem by the Tang dynasty literatus Han Yu.
The result of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test no. C102m50 is consistent with the dating of this lot.
Other richly caparisoned horses with three crenels in their manes, one also having part of its forelock bound as a plume in similar fashion to that of the current horse, are among the steeds excavated in 1957 from the tomb of the famous Tang dynasty General Xianyu Tinghui, who died in AD 723. See Zhongguo meishu quanji; gongyi meishu bian; (2) taoci- zhong, Shanghai, 1988, pp. 65-6, nos. 74 and 75. An unglazed figure of a galloping horse with female polo player with triple crenelated mane in the collection of the Rietberg Museum, Zurich, is illustrated by M. Medley, Tang Pottery & Stoneware, London, 1981, p. 51, fig. 41. See, also, the glazed, dappled horse with crenelated mane and tied forelock in the collection of the Kyoto National Museum illustrated by Masahiko Sato and Gakuji Hasebe, Sekai toji zenshu, vol. 11, Sui and Tang, Tokyo, 1976, pl. 192.
Even more rare than the distinctive mane on the current horse, are the decorative plaques that embellish the harness. Each of these bears a mounted polo player. Polo was a favorite sport at the Tang court and was played by both men and women. It is significant that a spirited polo match, involving more than 20 horsemen is depicted in one of the fine murals in the tomb of Crown Prince Zhanghuai. See The Silk Road - Treasures of Tang China, The Empress Place Museum, Singapore, 1991, p. 74. The mural shows the players using stirrups, which is not always the case for Tang equestrians, but more importantly its appearance in this royal tomb is indicative of the importance of polo at the Tang court of the early 8th century. It was seen not only as an exciting game, but also as excellent training for the young men of the court. Polo was even the subject of a poem by the Tang dynasty literatus Han Yu.
The result of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test no. C102m50 is consistent with the dating of this lot.