A RARE GRAY POTTERY GROUP OF A GRAZING HORSE AND RIDER

LATE SIX DYNASTIES/EARLY TANG DYNASTY

Details

A RARE GRAY POTTERY GROUP OF A GRAZING HORSE AND RIDER
Late Six Dynasties/Early Tang Dynasty
The separately modeled rider seated astride a well-detailed saddle with arched saddle bow set atop a large blanket, with left hand raised and right hand resting on his hip, wearing a soft, peaked hat, a short tunic, and high leggings extending up over the knees, with two pouches suspended from the belt worn low on his hips, his flattened face with high cheekbones and deep creases either side of the mouth, his body inclined forward as his full-bodied horse lowers its head to graze, its front legs stiffly braced and ears pricked, with traces of black and white pigment
16½in. (41.9cm.) high overall

Lot Essay

No other comparable figure of a grazing horse with rider appears to be published. Other examples of separately made horse and rider, where the rider is seated on a saddle quite similar to the present example with its pronounced bow in front were made during the Late Six Dynasties period. Compare the two gray pottery examples: one with a male rider, the other with a female rider, illustrated by Ezekiel Schloss, Ancient Chinese Ceramic Sculpture from Han to T'ang, vol. II, Stamford, Connecticut, 1977, pls. 49 and 51 A and B. In both of these figures the modeling of the riders is quite similar to that of the present example

The result of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test no C97a77 is consistent with the dating of this lot