A LARGE PAINTED GREY POTTERY FIGURE OF A MONGOLIAN PONY

WESTERN JIN DYNASTY (265-317)

Details

A LARGE PAINTED GREY POTTERY FIGURE OF A MONGOLIAN PONY
WESTERN JIN DYNASTY (265-317)
With stocky hollow-constructed body and short, knife-pared legs, the hogged mane terminating in a bud-shaped knob between the pricked ears, and the muzzle surmounted by a tassel, the saddle with tall bow and cantle under an orangy-red saddle blanket, with traces of white, red and black pigment
22 in. (55.9 cm.) high

Lot Essay

Horses of this type have been found in Western Jin tombs. See Kaogu 1985:8, p. 732, no. M34:70. He Li in Chinese Ceramics, New York, 1996, p. 117, maintains that the pointed roundel on the muzzle is a uniquely Western Jin characteristic and that the other quintessential traits of these figures - pointed ears, exaggerated features of the head and muscular body - "conform to the grotesque style preferred by Henan potters".

The result of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test no. C198e45 is consistent with the dating of this lot.

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