A sancai pottery horse, Tang Dynasty

Elegantly modelled standing four-square on a rectangular base, the head alertly raised, the forelock parted and ears pricked, the body covered with a light straw glaze leaving the saddle unglazed, the bridle, breast band and crupper all applied with floret-shield medallions and covered with yellow, green and ochre glazes, wood stand. 55.8cm (22in) wide. (2). Estimate: £18,000 - 25,000 - Unsold.

Provenance: Orientique Gallery, Hong Kong, in the early 1990s
An Asian private collection

Note: Elaborately comparisoned horses without riders, such as the present example, have been excavated in Tang tombs, where they were interred either alone or as part of a group. See, for example a comparable horse excavated in 1957 from the tomb of General Xianyu Tinghui (d. AD723) in Xi'an, illustrated Li Jian, The Glory of the Silk Road Art from Ancient China, Dayton, 2003, Catalogue no.91.

Bonhams. Fine Chinese Art, 14 May 2009. New Bond Street www.bonhams.com