Lot 80. An impressive group of twelve painted pottery cavalrymen, Western Han Dynasty; 29 to 31.1 cm high (12). Sold for US$20,480. © Bonhams 2025

Individually modeled and painted in red and black over a cream slip, the horse standing four-square with ears pricked, the men wearing military breastplate over crimson robe and leather boots, with arms stretched as if holding the rein, the surface with encrusted earth.

Provenance: Capital Gallery, Hong Kong, 1997

Mee-Seen Loong, Hong Kong, 1997 and 1998

Private Collection, Greenwich, Connecticut

Note: It is rare to have collected such a large group of cavalrymen in a consistent style and quality. Compare two cavalrymen of this type in the collection of the Portland Art Museum, Oregon, illustrated by Jenkins and Xu, Mysterious Spirits, Strange Beasts, Early Delights: Early Chinese Art from the Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Collection, Portland, 2005, pp. 98-99, described as Western Han dynasty.

Bonhams. CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART INCLUDING THE FRANCINE AND BERNARD WALD COLLECTION OF FINE SNUFF BOTTLES, PART I. New York, 17 March 2025