Ca. 202 BC–220 AD. Han Dynasty. A hollow-formed terracotta cream-coloured rhinoceros shown standing four-square with a well-cast head with two horns of different length, rose-coloured ears pricked back, small eyes, overlapping muzzle sensitively cast along the upper edges of the mouth with folds in the skin, which can also be seen in the skin of the neck. Excessive hunting led to the near extinction of the rhinoceros in Han-dynasty China, occasioning their importation from southeast Asia. The anatomical accuracy of the present example indicates that the artist must have modelled his work after a living animal. Very rare. This piece has been precisely dated by means of a Thermo Luminescence analysis carried out by Ralf Kotalla, an independent German Laboratory. The samples collected date the piece to the period reflected in its style, whilst also showing no modern trace elements. The TL certificate with its full report will accompany this lot. Provenance: From the private collection of a Somerset gentleman; previously in an old British collection, formed in the 1990s on the UK /European art markets. Size: L:280mm / W:590mm ; 8kg