A Finely Modeled Painted Gray Pottery Figure Of A Horse, Northern Qi Dynasty

the elegant horse standing foursquare with head held high, the narrow face with large expressive eyes, pricked ears and forelock swept up, the hogged mane arched down to the shoulders, applied with a chest strap hung with floret and fur tassels, the crupper strap with pendent bells, mask and rosette medallions behind the saddle blanket gathered in folds, all with traces of white slip and maroon, orange and green pigments and ample gilt details. height 15 1/2 in., 39.4 cm. Estimate 15,000—20,000 USD

The dating of this lot is consistent with the results of a thermoluminescence test, Oxford Authentication Ltd., no. C299b21.

PROVENANCE: Acquired on the Hong Kong art market, early 1980s.
Offered at Sotheby's New York, 17th September 2003, lot 45.

NOTE: A closely related pair of horses with similar gilding was included in the exhibition Important Asian Art, New York, 2000, cat. no. 4. A pottery caparisoned horse was excavated from the Eastern Wei tomb, Cixian, Hebei province, and is illustrated in Wenwu, 1984. no. 4, pl. 5.2, with a line drawing on p. 6, fig. 7:3. For the Northern Wei prototype compare a smaller figure of a horse offered in these rooms, 1st December 1992, lot 233.

Sotheby's. Chinese Works of Art. 17 Mar 09.New York www.sothebys.com Photo courtesy Sotheby's