5′ Terracotta Tang Sancai Horse

Description

Mid-20th century pair of floor size Tang dynasty style horse sculptures. This pair of terracotta horses are handmade and painted using the ancient tri-glaze ( Sancai ) techniques.

Sancai ( 三彩 ‘three colours’) is a type of decoration on Chinese pottery using glazes or slip, mainly in the three colours of brown (or amber), green, and a creamy off-white. It is associated with the Tang Dynasty (618–907) and its tomb figures. Therefore, it is commonly referred to as Tang Sancai.

well-moulded, standing foursquare with head turned slightly to the left/ right, the head well-articulated with ears pricked, eyes bulging and nostrils flared, the neck with cream-glazed mane, a bright green-glazed saddle cloth draped over the high ridged saddle and gathered in pleats to either side, all over a cream and amber-glazed saddle blanket, the body covered with a rich mottled amber glaze with green-glazed hooves.

Horses have long been a symbol of status and wealth and this sculpture reflects the high rank and importance of its owner, particularly as the ownership of horses was an aristocratic privilege. The use of Tang sancai ware was discussed at a recent symposium at National Taiwan University, Taipei, February 2015. It was suggested that it was used both in daily life as utilitarian vessels or religious objects and as funerary goods, but primarily by the upper and wealthy classes. See also Hsie Mingliang, The World of Ancient Chinese Lead-Glazed Wares: from the Warring States to Tang, Taipei, 2014, pp. 85-118.

We have a pair of the terracotta Tang sancai horses. Price marked individually, 3200 each.

Dimensions: 15″ x 39″ x  59.5″

Due to the size and/or the delicate situation of the item. Please contact us for more detail information /pick up or shipping options.