Lot 599. A painted pottery figure of a prancing horse, Tang dynasty, 7th-8th century. Estimate 50,000 — 70,000 USD. Photo: Sotheby's.

Provenance: Collection of Arthur B. Michael (1853-1942), Newton Center, Massachusetts (bequest of 1942).
Collection of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York, no. 1942:16.19.
Sotheby's New York, 20th March 2007, lot 509.

Literature: Andrew C. Ritchie, Catalogue of the Paintings and Sculpture in the Permanent Collection, Albright-Knox Gallery, Buffalo, 1949, cat. no. 214.
Steven A. Nash, with Katy Kline, Charlotta Kotik and Emese Wood, Albright-Knox Art Gallery:Painting and Sculpture from Antiquity to 1942, New York, 1979, p. 106.

Note: With its dynamic pose and well-defined musculature, the horse conveys a lively sense of energy which is heightened by the whinnying implied by its open mouth and pleasant jingling of moving bells. The long elegant mane and prancing position represent one of a highly desirable and rare group of trained dancing horses that were much in demand by the imperial household and its guests. 

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, New York, 14 Mar 2017, 10:30 AM