543 - A saddled terracotta horse from the Tang Dynasty, China, 7th-9th centuries.

A saddled terracotta horse from the Tang Dynasty, China, 7th-9th centuries. A large, decorated horse made of light-coloured clay with partial remnants of green and amber-coloured Sancai glaze; the modelled bridle with decorative elements is partially preserved; the body is hollow, 43.5 x 51 x 14 cmAccording to the accompanying documentation, this funerary object was recovered during excavations in 1952-54 in Shanxi Province, transported to Europe in several separate pieces and professionally reassembled in 1959/60; in terms of its quality and size, the horse is an outstanding example of ceramic art from the Tang Dynasty. The horse comes from a private collection in southern Germany; enclosed is documentation from the Darmstadt gallery owners Charlotte Otto and Gerhard Müller, noting the confirmation by Bruno Voigt, (1912-1988), a German artist and, from 1954 to 1959, Director of the East Asian Collection at the Berlin State Museums.