Eclectic | New York
Eclectic | New York
A PAIR CHINESE OF PAINTED POTTERY HORSES, TANG DYNASTY (618-907)
Lot Closed
May 1, 06:06 PM GMT
Estimate
6,000 - 8,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
A PAIR CHINESE OF PAINTED POTTERY HORSES
TANG DYNASTY (618-907)
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)
Height: 18½ in. (47 cm.)
Gifted from Erich Maria Remarque to Marlene Dietrich in the late 1940s (by repute)
Naturalistically modeled, this pair of funerary models of horses exemplifies the thriving ceramic sculptural tradition of the Tang dynasty (618-907). It was during this period that equine sculpture reached a new artistic peak, when craftsmen were able to capture the confidence and vigor of the horse.
One of the 'Six Livestock' in ancient China, the horse was the embodiment of the highest honors as well as transferable markers of wealth. During the Tang dynasty, ownership of horse statues was asserted as an aristocratic privilege in an edict forbidding artisans and tradesmen this right.