Lot 31. A large sancai-glazed figure of a caparisoned horse, Tang Dynasty; 76cm high. Sold for HK$1,782,000. © Bonhams 2026

Superbly modelled, standing foursquare on a rectangular base, the head well portrayed with large vigour eyes and flared nostrils below a parted forelock and pricked ears, the mane neatly hogged along the muscular neck, the chestnut-glazed body decorated with a sancai-glazed saddle and intricate crupper straps embellished with creamy-glazed foliate medallions, the mane and tail covered with attractive amber glaze, the plinth under the feet left unglazed.

Provenance: Acquired in Hong Kong, early 2000s

The dating of this lot is consistent with the result of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test no. C115m47.

Note : The present horse is exceptional for its powerfully modelled body, stately proportion, splendid sancai-glazed saddle, lavish bridle and floret trappings, which embodies the spirit of this valorous animal while showcasing the technical excellence and stylistic sophistication of pottery production during the peak of the Tang dynasty.

Tang dynasty horses of such imposing size decorated with related saddle set are in museum collections worldwide; see for example, a closely related horse of similar type and size with hogged mane but caparisoned with a more elaborate saddle, previously owned by Zheng Zhenduo and later donated to the Palace Museum, Beijing, acc.no.xin00144562. See also a slightly smaller example (66cm high) caparisoned with a similar saddle, in the Indianapolis Museum of Art, illustrated by Yutaka Mino and James Robinson, Beauty and Tranquility: The Eli Lilly Collection of Chinese Art, Indianapolis, 1983, pp.174-175. Another horse with its body covered in a straw-white glaze is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, acc.no.C.50-1964.

A related example, formerly with C.T. Loo, was sold at Christie's New York, 22 March 2013, lot 1433; see also a further example, which was sold at Christie's New York, 24 September 2021, lot 827.

Bonhams. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 4 May 2026, Hong Kong.