**Originally Listed At $1000**

East Asia, China, Han Dynasty, ca. 206 BCE to 220 CE. A mold-made earthenware horse rendered in fine, naturalistic detail - skillfully delineated hooves and musculature. During this period of Chinese history, the best horses came from the Fergana Valley in Central Asia - present day Afghanistan. Those horses were acquired through conquest and sent to Chinese emperors as tribute and owning such a steed was a status symbol. When elite individuals passed away, pottery horses modeled after the Ferghana chargers were often created and to accompany the deceased in the afterlife! Size: 11" L x 3.5" W x 10.5" H (27.9 cm x 8.9 cm x 26.7 cm)

Tomb statues like this horse are part of a class of artifacts called mingqi - sometimes known as "spirit utensils" or "vessels for ghosts." They became popular in the Han Dynasty and would persist for several centuries. Alongside figures like this one were musicians, athletes, animals, structures… Even though they were mass produced, mingqi of the Han Dynasty often show a high level of detail and naturalism. These were designed to assist the po, the part of the soul of the deceased that remained underground with the body while the hun, the other part of the soul, ascended. Caring for the po seems to have taken on a new level of meaning in the Han period, with more elaborate rituals and tomb construction arising.

Provenance: ex-Barakat Gallery, Beverly Hills, California, USA, acquired prior to 2000

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#175210

Professionally repaired, almost invisibily. Rear leg reattached and neck restoration, infill to fissure on spine. Stable fissure along length of spine visible on interior. Foam pads added to feet for stability. Light mineral and earthen deposits throughout.