A RARE BRONZE FIGURE OF A HORSE 3RD / 2ND CENTURY BC |

well cast, the stocky, muscular steed depicted standing four square leaning back slightly on its hind legs, its head held high, with rounded eyes, flaring nostrils, and opened mouth revealing the teeth, its pricked ears flanking its hogged mane extending down the neck, its tail curled high forming a small loop, the surface mottled with patches of malachite encrustation, wood stand (2)

Collection of Stephen Junkunc, III (d. 1978), acquired prior to September 1952. 

'Oak Park Resident Keeps Priceless Collection of Oriental Art in Bomb Shelter', Chicago Tribune, 7th September 1952, part III, p. 1. 

There are some losses to the two proper right hooves. The right side of the body has a slightly compressed dent with an associated circular patch repair. The surface has extensive malachite encrustation with some slightly powdery patches.
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 horse is distinguished by its large size in relation to related examples. See a closely related Ordos bronze horse but of a slightly smaller size, from the collection of Mrs. E. Bennett, exhibited in the Exhibition of Chinese Art, Berlin, 1929, cat. no. 89, sold in our London rooms, 24th May 1955, lot 26. Other horses of this type are generally much smaller, such as one previously in the collection of C.T. Loo, illustrated in Alfred Salmony, Sino-Siberian Art, in the Collection of C.T. Loo, Paris, 1933, pl. XXXV, fig. 6; another previously in the collection of Frau E. Rosenheim, also exhibited in the Berlin exhibition, op. cit., cat. no. 129, and later sold in our London rooms, from the collection of Mrs. E. Bennett, 24th May 1955, lot 21, and again, from the collection of Mrs. Walter Sedgwick, 2nd July 1968, lot 16; a third sold in our London rooms, 11th December 1979, lot 53; and lastly, a pair, from the collection of Lester Wolfe, sold in these rooms, 7th December 1983, lot 73. For stylistic comparison, see a Warring States bronze horse in the M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco, from the Avery Brundage Collection, published in René-Yvon Lefebvre d'Argencé, Ancient Chinese Bronzes in the Avery Brundage Collection, Berkeley, 1966, pl. XLVIII, no. C; and another sold in these rooms, 20th February 1974, lot 303.