Pair of painted pottery female polo players from the early Tang Dynasty, astride galloping horses with legs extended to their fullest in mid air. Both riders are seated in the saddle with their legs stretched forwards, one leaning forward wearing an orange tunic with her body twisted slightly to the left, her right arm extended to swing the polo stick, while the other rider, wearing a red tunic and leaning forward, is twisted slightly to the right with her left arm extended to swing the polo stick. Both riders hold polo sticks in each hand that emerge from long flowing sleeves of their tunics. The flowing sleeves and pointed polo sticks on pottery polo players is extremely rare and in the same style of a mural from the tomb of Li Xian, dated 706. The double-knotted hairstyles of both riders is identical to a set of musicians in The Asian Arts Museum of San Francisco dated approximately 705-710 A.D. The thick-bodied horses with short legs, straining necks, open mouths, and cropped tails, are painted with patches of brown and black. Restorations. From the Doris Duke Collection where they were prominently displayed in the Palm Room at Duke Farm, Hillsborough, NJ. Early Tang Dynasty, 8th century. 15 x 12.5 inches. Purchased from Parke-Bernet Galleries ,New York, May 17,1941, Lot 205 for $280.