TANG DYNASTY (AD 618-907)

The sancai or ‘three-color’ glaze was developed during the seventh century when Tang-dynasty potters were experimenting with the lively tones of green, amber and yellow. The cobalt-blue glaze, as seen on the present pair of finely modeled caparisoned horses, was an expensive import from the Middle East at the time and was reserved for objects of the highest quality. The blue has been selectively utilized to highlight the saddles as well as the tassels and ornaments that decorate the straps that frame the face, the chest, and the rump. On one of the horses, the blue has been paired with cream to create a striking alternating pattern on the mane and the dressed tail. Other unusual features include the crosshatching of the saddle on the horse with the blue and cream mane, which was likely done to simulate a textile or fur covering, as well as the crisply molded palmettes that embellish the horse with the green saddle.

A comparable pair of glazed pottery horses, but of slightly smaller scale (15 in. high), in the David W. Dewey Collection features one amber-glazed horse with an amber-glazed textured saddle and blue-glazed details on the fittings and a cropped mane, and one cream-glazed horse with the saddle, cloth and fittings featuring blue-glazed details. See R. Jacobsen, Celestial Horses and Long Sleeve Dancers, The David W. Dewey Collection of Ancient Tomb Sculpture, Minneapolis, 2013, pp. 230-31.

The results of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test nos. C106c28 and C106c29 are consistent with the dating of this lot.