TANG DYNASTY (AD 618-907)

The present sancai horse is very well-modelled and successfully imparts a sense of realism and subtle movement, revealing the technical accomplishment and stylistic maturity of Chinese ceramic sculpture at the peak of the Tang dynasty. The horse itself was a potent image during the vigorous expansion of the Tang ‘golden age’. The ceramic horses of the Tang dynasty were either decorated with sancai (three-color) glazes, like the current example, or were unglazed and cold-painted. Both techniques were extremely successful. The distribution of sancai glazes on the present horse emphasizes the horses’ powerful bodies and elaborate sprig-molded trappings. Compare the similarly glazed figure of a horse, with cream-glazed body, green-glazed tassels, amber-glazed mane and unglazed saddle and saddle cloth was sold at Christie’s New York, 17 September 2008, lot 412. Another example of similar size is in the Tokyo National Museum, illustrated in Mayuyama, Seventy Years, vol. 1, Tokyo, 1976, no. 198.

The result of Oxford thermoluminescence test no. 166m40 (4 December 1974) is consistent with the dating of this lot.