A rare 'sancai'-glazed pottery equestrian Tang dynasty

the rider of Altaic Tokarian type, his unglazed face painted in fine detail with black pigment on his eyes, eyebrows and goatee, the lips accented with red pigment, wearing a close-fitting hood painted in orange pigment, his chestnut-glazed tunic with long outer sleeves revealing a layer of green clothing beneath, his hands clasped, seated astride a powerfully modeled horse glazed green with an iridescent sheen overall, its turned head with bulging eyes and flared nostrils, the thick mane, hooves, docked tail, trappings and saddle picked out in black and the saddle blanket splashed in green, chestnut and cream-colored glaze

Collection of Dr. Sidney Kreinin (until 1980).
Sotheby's New York, 8th November 1980, lot 107.
Thereafter with the present owners.

The horse is in fair condition, with UV light revealing a repainted right ear and a restuck tail. The equestrian has a reglued left hand and a restored break across the right arm. The chestnut-glaze on his tunic is in very good condition. The horse's left pupil has lost its black color. Some glaze degradation to the legs and front of the horse, resulting in a silvery iridescence. The rectangular base is slightly uneven. The colors in the catalogue are slightly more saturated than the actual colors.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The present figure belongs to a well-known group of equestrian models. It is unusually well preserved with the characteristic sancai glaze particularly bright and dense. This figure is closely comparable with a glazed pottery figure of an equestrian, formerly in the collection of the Louisville Art Gallery and later sold at Christie's New York, 30th November 1983, lot 46. The Louisville figure was sold with a letter from C.T. Loo where it is suggested that riders of this type were Tokarian horse traders wearing the typical winter riding hat, and that the raised hand is a gesture of a sign language that was widely used by the Near Eastern traders in China. The letter further mentions that the Louisville figure was excavated in the Loyang region in 1945 and that from the same burial ground came a number of other equestrian figures, such as those in the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.,; the Nelson Gallery of Art, Kansas City; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Cincinnati Museum of Art; the Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, Mass.; the Hermitage Foundation of Norfolk, Virginia; the Dudley Peter Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin; and the Musee Guimet, Paris.

For further related examples see a slightly smaller pottery figure of an equestrian wearing similar winter hat sold in these rooms, 2nd June 1993, lot 266; and a particularly fine horse and rider of this type, included in the exhibition Early Chinese Ceramic Works of Art, Eskenazi, London, 1972, cat. no. 17, where it is reported to have been excavated in Loyang in 1948.