Ca. AD 618-907
A beautiful hollow-moulded terracotta horse, with a muscular, sandy brown body modeled in a standing pose and an elegantly arched neck with a long flowing mane in cream pigment, incised to reflect the individual strands of hair. The head is painted in white with black detailing, open mouth, flaring nostrils, and bulging eyes with red accents. the tail tied short and secured with a string; standing on a rectangular base, hollow to the underside.
The saddle is decorated with a white pigment, with darker brown, painterly strokes added for details, it holds a soldier in simple dress, long sword at his side. His body is angled upwards, with arms posed to suggest that he was once shooting an arrow into the sky. He has round face with well-articulated features out in black and red pigments, the hair gathered in a double bun topknot secured with a black kerchief.
Provenance: From UK private collection of Asian Art; formerly acquired in the early 1990s in Hong Kong.
CHINESE TANG DYNASTY TERRACOTTA HORSE WITH RIDER - TL TESTED
Dimensions
L: 430mm / W: 370mm ; 3.6kg