Lot 652. Pair of painted pottery horses, Tang dynasty (618-907). Height 18 1/2  in., 47 cm. Estimate 15,000 — 20,000 USD. Courtesy Sotheby's.

each horse rearing back on its hind legs and animatedly raising one of its forelegs, the face tilted with the eyes wide, the nostrils flaring, and the mouth agape conveying a sense of immediacy, the neck elegantly arched and the mane falling to one side, the body with painted harness, reigns, saddle and saddlecloth, fitted wood base (2).

Provenance: Gifted from Erich Maria Remarque to Marlene Dietrich in the late 1940s (by repute).

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, New York, 20 march 2019