**Originally Listed At $4500**

East Asia, China, Han Dynasty, ca. 206 BCE to 220 CE. A spectacular pottery horse, prancing proudly with a proudly arched neck and knotted tail - alert and caught in mid-motion- one hoof stepping forward. Artisans molded graceful equines, to imbue a heavenly or celestial power- the horse was used for funerary burial. 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. Equines represented militaristic strength, beauty, and speed - horses were associated with dragons and believed to possess supernatural abilities such as flight. When elite individuals passed away, pottery "celestial horses" modeled after the Ferghana chargers were often created and to carry the deceased in the afterlife. Size: 17" L x 7" W x 22.25" H (43.2 cm x 17.8 cm x 56.5 cm)

For a similar example of this horse, please see the Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA) website, accession number: 98.19. A comparable

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.

This piece has been tested using thermoluminescence (TL) analysis by Daybreak Archaeometric Laboratory Services has been found to be ancient and of the period stated. A full printed and bound report will accompany the item upon purchase.

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Provenance: private Vero Beach, Florida, USA collection, acquired before 2003

All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

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#177344

Repaired and restored, rear leg reattached and visible break line. Neck reattached. Felt pad added for stability on front and rear hoof. Chips and surface abrasions. Old Tl hole on rump under tail. Purportedly this piece was TL tested in 1997 according to tag, report not included. Earthen and mineral encrustations throughout.