A VERY RARE GROUP OF THREE RED POTTERY FIGURES OF FEMALE POLO PLAYERS
PROPERTY FROM A DISTINGUISHED PRIVATE COLLECTION
A VERY RARE GROUP OF THREE RED POTTERY FIGURES OF FEMALE POLO PLAYERS

TANG DYNASTY (AD 618-907)

Details
A VERY RARE GROUP OF THREE RED POTTERY FIGURES OF FEMALE POLO PLAYERS
TANG DYNASTY (AD 618-907)
Each spirited horse is modeled as if in full gallop, and the rider, wearing a long close-fitting tunic worn over one arm, the other sleeve tucked under the belt, is shown twisted at the waist and with head lowered to follow the course of the ball. The face is detailed in black and red pigment on a white slip, and there are traces of dark red and black pigments.
13 ½ in. (34.3 cm.) long, stands
Provenance
Christie's New York, 30 May 1991, lot 263.

Brought to you by

Margaret Gristina (葛曼琪)
Margaret Gristina (葛曼琪) Senior Specialist, VP

Lot Essay

Pottery figures of polo players fall into two categories: dynamic riders seated on horses shown in full "flying gallop", with no support or stand, and elegant riders seated stiffly on horses standing on a rectangular base. The present figures belong to the first category, as do the four similar figures of female polo players in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, referred to in Handbook of the Collections, vol. II, Art of the Orient, Kansas City, 1973, p. 81. See, also, the figure in the Tenri Museum in Japan, illustrated by Hasebe and Sato, Sekai toji zenshu, vol. 11, Tokyo, 1976, pl. 183.

The earliest literary and visual evidence of polo in China dates from the 7th and 8th centuries, including stories of polo-playing emperors and members of the imperial family. A mural depicting a game of polo, datable to the years AD 706-11, found in the tomb of Li Xian, Crown Prince Zhanghuai (AD 654-84), is discussed and illustrated by J. Fontein and Wu Tung in Han and Tang Murals, Boston, 1976, p. 101, nos. 122-25, col. pl. 15. For a full discussion of polo see, Robert Harrist, Jr., Power and Virtue, The Horse in Chinese Art, China Institute in America, New York, 1997, pp. 74-75, nos. 11 and 12. Also see Colin Mackenzie and Irving Finkel (eds.), Asian Games: The Art of Contest, Asia Society, New York, 2004, pp. 282-303, where the authors note, p. 285, that many women played polo and according to the poet Wang Jian (c. 751-830), "they were especially noted for their deftness at executing back-hand shots." This is corroborated by ceramic tomb figures of female polo players which show them appropriately dressed in close-fitting attire.

The result of Oxford thermoluminescence test no. 566p1 is consistent with the dating of this lot.

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