AN ELEGANT PAINTED POTTERY FIGURE OF A HORSE Tang dynasty (2)PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF RUTH AND HAROLD NEWMANAN ELEGANT PAINTED POTTERY FIGURE OF A HORSETang dynastyThe right legs positioned slightly forward to suggest movement, the head with open mouth, finely delineated facial muscles, large eyes under hooded brows, and the ears perked upward, the mane swept to one side, the back modelled to accommodate the separately crafted saddle and saddle cloth which fit neatly in position, the red pottery body covered with a white slip, painted in black to highlight the mane, saddle, and the spotted fur. 21in (53.3cm) high (2).Provenance:Ancient Art International, Middleboro, MA, 21 September 2003The Harold and Ruth Newman Collection, Connecticut, 2003-2022Compare the closely related painted gray pottery horse illustrated in R. Jacobsen, Celestial Horses & Long Sleeve Dancers: The David W. Dewey Collection of Ancient Chinese Tomb Sculpture, Chicago, 2013, pp. 220-221 (one of the pair), where the author notes that a particular breed of foreign horse was favored by the Xuanzhong Emperor (r. 667-731) in equine dancing performances on the occasion of his birthday. See also two similar striding horses illustrated by Nicholas Grindley in his exhibition catalogue, March 2001, cat. nos 3-4. A related horse of smaller size in the Shaanxi Historical Museum, is illustrated in Zhongguo taoci quanji, Vol. 5, Shanghai, 2000, pl. 199, and another is illustrated in V. Choi, Horses for Eternity-Terracotta Equestrian Tomb Sculpture of Dynastic China, Hong Kong, 2007, no. 67, pp. 186.187. -