Chinese Tang Terracotta Horse and Rider

TANG DYNASTY, 618-907 A.D. OR LATER

11 5/8 in. (1.54 kg, 29.5 cm).

Modelled on a rectangular base, the horse standing with a rounded saddlecloth; the rider modelled seated in the saddle, right arm raised and left arm held before the body; right hand modelled empty to accept a bow or other weapon; some restoration.

Provenance

Ex North Yorkshire, UK, collection, 1990s.

Literature

See Prodan, M., The Art of The T'ang Potter, London, 1960, for comparable example (pl.XI).

Footnotes

Many horses, in the Tang graves, have been found with a runnel down the length of the upper neck, and a hole at the end of the spine. These cavities were surely meant to take real horsehair manes and tails, as some later porcelain figures are adorned with wisps of real human hair threaded through holes under the nose and the chin.

CONDITION

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LOT 2018