A MONUMENTAL SICHUAN POTTERY FIGURE OF A HORSE, HAN DYNASTY China, 206 BC to 220 AD. Powerfully modeled standing foursquare in a pose of alert attention, its strong neck and head poised with open mouth and flaring nostrils, the legs supporting a muscular body, the upturned tail ending in a knob, the head and back incised with lines representing the halter, bridle, and saddle.

Provenance: From a private collection in London, United Kingdom.
Condition: Very good condition overall, commensurate with age. Some repairs and touchups as generally expected from Han dynasty excavations of this important size. Extensive wear, losses, encrustations, structural cracks. Drilled holes from sample-taking.
Scientific Analysis Report: A thermoluminescence analysis report issued by Oxford Authentication on 25 June 1997, based on sample number C97b48, sets the firing date of two samples taken between 1300 and 2000 years ago. A copy of the report, issued by Oxford Authentication, accompanies this lot. A copy of a Polaroid photograph of the present horse, inscribed 'Submitted as C97b48' (the sample number for the Oxford Authentication thermoluminescence analysis report), accompanies this lot.

Dimensions: Height 116 cm, Length 100 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.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie's Amsterdam, 16 December 2008, lot 6
Price: EUR 23,750 or approx. EUR 30,500 adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A massive Chinese Sichuan painted grey pottery figure of a horse, Han dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the closely related pose and decoration. Note the slightly smaller size (110 cm).


漢代四川立馬陶俑
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：英國倫敦私人收藏。
品相：整體品相極好，與年齡相應。漢代如此重要規模的考古工作通常會進行一些修復和修飾。大面積磨損、缺損、結殼、結構裂縫。取樣鑽孔。
科學檢測報告：1997年6月25日牛津熱釋光報告，樣本編號 C97b48，根據兩個樣本結論為1300 至2000年前。隨附報告複印件。隨附檢測時的照片複印件。

尺寸：高116 厘米，長100 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年，畫冊，圖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，頁9，圖 iii。

拍賣結果比較：
形制：非常相近
拍賣：阿姆斯特丹佳士得，2008年12月16日，lot 6
價格：EUR 23,750（相當於今日EUR 30,500）
描述：漢代四川灰陶立馬陶俑
專家評論：比較非常相近的姿勢和裝飾。請注意尺寸稍小 (110 厘米)。