The pottery horse, characterized by its balanced body, arched neck, and lowered head, is hollow-molded with a carefully finished base, reflecting the East Asian funerary figures.
Its surface is finished in a marbling technique of yellowish tones, with distinct changes resulting from long-term burial. Along the mane and saddle ridge, particularly within recessed areas, salination efflorescence appears as a white powdery layer. In addition, consistent oxidation layers can be observed across the surface with its natural crazing. It is a rare animal-shaped porcelain with a marbled surface.
Date : Tang-Song Dynasty or Later Dynasty Type : Marbled pottery figure Dimension : 19cm (Height) x 24cm (Diameter) Condition : Good Provenance : Acquired in late 1990s from Hongkong Reference : 1) Sotheby's London Important Chinese Art - 15 May 2019- Lot 20 - A RARE LARGE MARBLED MEIPING FIVE DYNASTIES - SONG DYNASTY (Price estimate : 100,000-150,000 GBP / Type : related) https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2019/important-chinese-art-l19210/lot.20.html
2) Christies Newyork 15–16 MAR 2015 - Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art (Price realised : 21,250 USD / Type : related) https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-5880264
* Marbled Glaze Marbling, or jiao tai ('mixed clay'), was a popular decoration technique on ceramics of the Tang dynasty. Although formerly thought to be derived from the tixi multi-colored lacquer tradition, recent scholarship finds the inspiration to have more likely come from marbelized glasswares of the ancient Near East. Such pieces have been found in excavations as far as Afghanistan and Korea. Evidentally Tang potters of the early 8th century adapted this technique to pottery, creating the world's earliest form of marbelized ceramics.
