A VERY LARGE AND MASSIVE SICHUAN POTTERY FIGURE OF A STRIDING HORSE, HAN DYNASTY China, 206 BC to 220 AD. Powerfully modeled striding with the right leg forward, its strong neck and head poised with open mouth and flaring nostrils, pricked up funnel ears and staring eyes, the haunches incised with stylized muscles and terminating in pronounced hooves, the upturned tail ending in a knob, the bridle with a central mask motif in high relief, the unglazed body of a grayish-brown color.

Provenance: Pao & Moltke, Toronto. A distinguished private collection, acquired from the above. Sear Hang Hwie Pao (1937-2009) was one of Canada’s leading dealers of Chinese porcelain and works of art. His antique store, Pao & Moltke, owned together with his wife Mrs. von Moltke, who descended from a German and Danish noble family, was a fixture in Toronto’s trendy Yorkville area from the 1980s to early 2000s.
Condition: Very good condition overall, commensurate with age. Some repair to legs and other areas as generally expected from Han dynasty excavations of this size. Extensive wear, losses, encrustations. Drilled holes from sample-taking.
Scientific Analysis Report: A thermoluminescence sample analysis has been conducted by Oxford Authentication, reference no. C121k44, dated 13 September 2021, and is consistent with the suggested period of manufacture. A copy of the thermoluminescence analysis report accompanies this lot.

Dimensions: Height 122 cm, Length 103 cm

Expert’s note: Large horses of this type have been found in a number of tombs within the Han empire. Among the most famous are those from the graves of the well-known Han dynasty minister Zhou Bo and his son excavated at Yangjiawan, Xianyang, Shaanxi province, see Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Quest for Eternity, Thames and Hudson, 1987, Catalogue, nos.11-15. The well-sculpted head, flaring nostrils and upwardly-curling top lip are characteristic of these Han horses, typified by the large bronze horse excavated at Hejiashan, Jinyang, Sichuan province and recorded in Wenwu, 1991, no. 3, page 9, pl. iii.

漢代罕見四川灰陶馬
中國，公元前206年至公元220 年。通體素面，造型敦實。馬作直立狀，右腿向前邁出，昂首挺胸，腰肥體壯，雙耳豎立，小耳大眼，目光前視，鼻翼翕張，尾巴上翹，身軀健碩。

來源：多倫多Pao & Moltke藝廊；一個知名的私人收藏購於上述藝廊。Sear Hang Hwie Pao (1937-2009) 是加拿大中國瓷器和藝術品的主要經銷商之一。他和妻子創立了Pao＆Moltke Ltd古玩店，他們的古玩店從1980年代到2000年代初期曾是多倫多時尚的Yorkville地區的熱門店鋪。
品相：整體狀況極好，與年齡相稱。 有著漢代考古裡預期的修復，比如在腿部。大面積磨損、缺損、結殼。取樣鑽孔。
科學檢測報告：隨附一份2021年9月13日牛津熱釋光分析報告，編號 C121k44，與建議的製作年代一致。

尺寸：高122 厘米，長 103 厘米

專家注釋：類似這樣的陶馬佣在漢墓考古發現中出現了一大批。其中最著名的是，出土於陝西咸陽楊家灣的漢朝大臣周勃周亞夫父子墓，見洛杉磯美術館，The Quest for Eternity, Thames and Hudson, 1987, 畫冊，nos.11-15。漢馬造型精巧，鼻孔張開，上唇上翹，以四川晉陽何家山出土的大型青銅馬為代表，見《文物》，1991年，圖3，第9頁，圖 iii。

拍賣結果比較：比較一件相近的漢代陶馬，高 110 厘米，見阿姆斯特丹佳士得European Furniture, Clocks, Sculpture and Works of Art 2008年12月16日 lot 6, 售價EUR 23,750。比較一件相近的漢代陶馬，高 116.2 厘米，見紐約蘇富比Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art 2007年3月19日 lot 583, 售價USD 22,800。比較一件相近的漢代陶馬，高125 厘米，見倫敦邦翰思Fine Asian Art 2006年7月10日 lot 72, 售價GBP 21,600。