Details

LOT 0287

Chinese Tang Caparisoned Horse with Lowered Head

TANG DYNASTY, 618-907 AD

20" (8.5 kg, 51cm).

A ceramic horse modelled in the round standing on an integral rectangular base; the horse's head and neck bent low, whilst the animal grooms its left foreleg with its teeth; finely executed semi-naturalistic anatomical detailing to the mouth, muzzle, head, eyes, legs and hooves; short tail dressed and tied with a ribbon, cropped mane in immaculate bunches, moulded saddle with saddle cloth, harness with discoid pendants; remains of painted pigmentation.

Provenance

From a West Country, UK, collection; formerly with a Bath, UK, gallery, 1990s; accompanied by a positive Kotalla Laboratory thermoluminescence report no.38CM180321; this lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by AIAD certificate number no.10836-178531.

Literature

See The Metropolitan Museum, accession number 1985.214.138, for similar.

Footnotes

For centuries in China, geopolitical realities made horses 'the foundation of military might, the great resource of the state.' The Chinese used horses to pull war chariots from the Shang dynasty (c.1600 BC) onwards, and deployed mounted riders against their enemies from the 4th century BC onwards.
Placing representations of horses in tombs was a practice in China from the Bronze Age, with ceramic figures being the most frequently discovered burial artefacts between the Han and Tang periods, with carvings and paintings appearing on the spirit roads leading to imperial tombs and in tomb murals, with some even capturing the likeness of specific animals when they were alive, creating a symbolic equality between rulers and their horses.
Tang representations of horses symbolised the military prowess of the dynasty and the power and status of the owner of the equine figure. Riding itself was a privilege- an imperial edict issued in 667 AD prohibited artisans and tradesmen from riding horses, whilst the aristocracy rode to hunt, for sport and for pleasure.

CONDITION