Lot 63. A rare large amber-glazed figure of a horse, Han dynasty  (206 BC-220 AD). Height 112cm., 44in. Estimate 3,000 — 5,000 GBP. Lot Sold 11,250 GBP. Photo courtesy Sotheby's 2009

powerfully modelled standing four-square, the vigorously sculpted head with large alert eyes, flaring nostrils and pricked ears, covered overall in a rich warm amber glaze save for the hooves, forelock and tail, the muscular back adorned with a large detachable unglazed saddle. Quantity: 2.

Provenance: Sotheby's London, 13th June 2003, lot 305.

Note: Compare a slightly larger green-glazed horse of this type, from the Jingguantang Collection, sold at Christie's New York, 20th March 1997, lot 51; and another slightly smaller example sold at Christie's New York, 22nd March 2007, lot 249. Horses of this impressive size, most often unglazed, have been excavated in Sichuan province. Compare an unglazed horse of this large size, unearthed in Pengshan County and currently in the Nanjing Museum, illustrated in The Great Treasury of Chinese Fine Arts. Sculpture 2: Sculpture of the Qin and Han Dynasties, Beijing, 1988, pl. 128. Another large unglazed horse of this type was sold in these rooms, 10th June 1997, lot 4.

The dating of this lot is consistent with the results of an Oxford thermoluminescence test, C298c37

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, London, 04 Nov 2009