Lot Essay
Horses have been found in a number of tombs within the Han empire. Among the most famous are those from the graves of the Han Dynasty minister Zhou Bo excavated at Yangjiawan, Xianyang, Shaanxi province. See Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Quest for Eternity, Thames and Hudson, 1987, Catalogue, nos. 11-15.
These pottery figures may be compared, in the sharp modelling of the features and sturdy bodies with bronze examples that have been excavated.
Horses were a favourite theme in Han art, whether in paintings, stone sculpture, bronzes such as the 'flying horse' of Gansu, or in ceramics. It has been said, that in order to combat the Xiongmu tribes on the Northern borders of China, the Han emperor Wudi brought some of the renowned tianma (heavenly horses) from the Ferghana area of Central Asia.
As with the Tang horses, the Han ceramics models were made in sections and then luted together.
These pottery figures may be compared, in the sharp modelling of the features and sturdy bodies with bronze examples that have been excavated.
Horses were a favourite theme in Han art, whether in paintings, stone sculpture, bronzes such as the 'flying horse' of Gansu, or in ceramics. It has been said, that in order to combat the Xiongmu tribes on the Northern borders of China, the Han emperor Wudi brought some of the renowned tianma (heavenly horses) from the Ferghana area of Central Asia.
As with the Tang horses, the Han ceramics models were made in sections and then luted together.