A POTTERY MODEL OF A CAPARISONED HORSE

Description:

China, Northern Wei dynasty
H. 28,5 cm
This beautifully modelled horse is made of grey and cold-painted earthenware. It belongs to a group of horse figures made of grey pottery from the Northern Wei dynasty. This and other horses reflect the type of idealised horse and the type of equipment that were popular during the Wei dynasty. The same type of horse and equipment are depicted in a drawing of a horse with headdress carved on a stone relief from the Northern Dynasties. This drawing was published by Sun Ji in Wenwu, 1981:10, pp. 82-88, 96, The Equestrian Gear and Ornament of the Tang Dynasty, and translated and reproduced by Dien, Rigel and Price in Chinese Archaeological Abstracts, vol. 4, Los Angeles, 1984, p. 1785, fig. 4.
From an old Austrian private collection, acquired prior to 1990 - Rest.