Lot 451. A large Sichuan pottery model of a hound, Han Dynasty. Sold for £ 1,020 (€ 1,188). © Bonhams

Modelled with a separate head raised and looking ahead with large eyes and broad nose, the stout body standing squarely on four slender legs, the tail curled above the strong haunches. 46cm (18 1/8in) long.

Published, Illustrated and Exhibited: Roger Keverne Ltd., Winter Exhibition, London, 2003, no.20.

The result of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test no.C103c86, dated 25 February 2003, is consistent with the dating of this lot.

Note : Hunting dogs with similar expressive faces have been unearthed in Pengshan, Sichuan Province. For a similar example, Han dynasty, see J.P.Desroches, Compagnons d'éternité, Paris, 1997, pp.86-87.