LARGE NORTHER WEI DYANSTY TERRACOTTA HORSE - TL TESTED

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ART OF ASIA- FROM ANTIQUITY TO PRESENT DAY

By Apollo Art Auctions

Jul 26, 2020

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• Lot Description
  Ca. 386-534 AD. Chinese Northern Wei Dynasty. Terracotta Horse. A heavily restored, elegant hollow-moulded terracotta horse. This horse is modelled in a standing pose with its neck elegantly arched and its ears pricked forward attentively. The tail is depicted free flowing, instead of bound in the traditional military fashion. Taken together with the elaborate trappings which are modelled in great this terracotta may represent a horse fitted out for parade. The white slip remains, with additional pigments, such as orange and black and green, used to pick out details of the features, such as the trappings, the blanket and the muzzle. Horses were an important status symbol in ancient China. These animals were brought to China via the Silk Road and were considered a luxury good. As such horses were a sign of wealth among the elite, and there were strict laws which restricted the ownership of horses to people of elevated rank. In fact, soldiers serving in China’s military had to provide their own mounts indicating that only the richest members of society could serve in the cavalry. This exceptionally well-preserved terracotta is part of a long tradition of horse statuettes in China, and in fact, the earliest known example of a stirrup, today a mainstay of equestrianism, was found on another Chinese statue of a horse from Hunan province, dated to AD 302 (see Cartier, M. 1993. ‘Considérations sur l'histoire du harnachement et de l'équitation en Chine.’ Anthropozoologica, 18, 29-44). Excellent condition. Authenticated by Ralf Kotalla laboratory in Germany; report attached. Provenance: From an old British collection formed in the 1990s; Size: H:680.5mm / W:520.5mm ; 15kg
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