East Asia, China, Han Dynasty, ca. 206 BCE to 220 CE. A handsome ceramic 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 to accompany the deceased in the afterlife! Size: 4.1" L x 10.4" W x 12" H (10.4 cm x 26.4 cm x 30.5 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: private Owen collection, Sussex County, New Jersey, USA; ex-H. Gene Blocker collection, before 2000

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#181504

Professional repair and restoration to neck and body; all very well done and difficult to distinguish. Feet have been professionally reattached with some minor chipping and adhesive along visible break lines, as shown. Age-expected nicks and abrasions, but otherwise good remaining pigments and rich earthen deposits throughout.