A large painted pottery figure of a prancing horse, Tang dynasty

Sotheby's New York, 31st March / 1st April 2005, lot 265.

Bonhams San Francisco, 10th December 2015, lot 8158.

Painted pottery horses sculpted in this lively and naturalistic fashion are rare. The head is skillfully carved and the rest of the body rendered with care in order to achieve the very complex position, whereby the horse is supported on three legs with a foreleg held up high and the hind legs far apart. Evidenced by the details of the drapery and trappings that are also carefully rendered, the masterly sculpting of this horse sincerely expresses the importance of horses in Tang society.

Compare a related prancing horse with similarly textured saddle included in the exhibition Silk Roads. China Ships, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, 1983, p. 69 (left); and another sold at Christie’s New York, 3rd June 1993, lot 186. Compare also a related white- and brown-glazed example of similar size, textured saddle and trappings, preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Ni yinggai zhidao de 200 jian gudai taoyong /  The 200 Objects You Should Know. Pottery Figures, Beijing, 2007, pl. 182.