LOT 0429

Chinese Tang Horse with Rider

TANG DYNASTY, 618-907 A.D.

12 5/8 in. (1.75 kg, 32 cm high).

Modelled in the round with semi-naturalistic anatomical detailing, the horse standing on a rectangular base, its stocky neck and head slightly turned to the right, ears pricked forwards, cropped mane and short, dressed tail; the separate rider seated in saddle wearing a knee-length robe, hood and riding boots, one arm held in front of his body, the other raised above his head, detailing to his face; remains of polychrome pigmentation; the upper half of the rider's body modelled separately.

From the R.M.Hicks OBE private collection, UK.

Accompanied by an original thermoluminescence analysis report no.C106u29 from Oxford Authentication.

Cf. The Metropolitan Museum, New York, accession numbers 54.169 and 1991.253.7a, b, for similar figures.

A symbol of military strength and social status, the horse was ever a potent mythological and symbolic animal in China. During the Tang Dynasty, both polo and hunting from horseback became fashionable for men and women. It was also during the Tang Dynasty period that female court attendants on horses appeared in art and in tomb sculpture. The fruits of China's relationship with the horse include three of the most important innovations in equestrian history: the horse collar, the stirrup and harnesses based on the breast strap. The failure of China's domestic horse breeding programmes forced them to artificially inflate the price of tea (the production of which was controlled by China), so that tea could be traded for horses from their neighbours.