† A FRAGMENTARY BLACK LIMESTONE FIGURE OF A POLO PLAYER, TANG DYNASTY

LOT 321 · 已成交

成交价 EUR22000.00

拍卖时间：2026-10-16 17:00

拍卖行： Galerie Zacke

专场： 第二日 亚洲艺术、佛教与印度教精品

拍品描述

† A FRAGMENTARY BLACK LIMESTONE FIGURE OF A POLO PLAYER, TANG DYNASTY Expert’s note Polo players are well known in Tang pottery, but their representation in stone is exceptionally rare. The spirited composition finds its closest parallels in pottery examples with horses in ‘flying gallop’. The carving is accomplished throughout, particularly in the expressive head of the horse, the carefully worked trappings, and the rider’s dress and coiffure. The dark stone, familiar from the guardian animals of Tang funerary sculpture, is here employed for a subject drawn from the sporting life of the court. China, 618-906. Naturalistically carved in a dynamic pose as a polo player mounted on horseback, his hands lifted to grasp the reins. The horse is rendered with its head dramatically raised and mouth agape, its harness detailed with straps suspending ruyi-form tassels, while the saddle cloth is decorated with stylized cloud motifs. Dimensions: Length 32.5 cm (excl. stand) Mounted to a modern stand. (2) The earliest literary and visual evidence of polo in China dates from the 7th and 8th centuries, including stories of polo-playing emperors and members of the imperial family. A mural depicting a game of polo, datable to the years AD 706-11, found in the tomb of Li Xian, Crown Prince Zhanghuai (AD 654-84), is discussed and illustrated by J. Fontein and Wu Tung in Han and Tang Murals, Boston, 1976, p. 101, nos. 122-25, col. pl. 15, now in the Shaanxi History Museum. Literature comparison: Compare a group of large limestone reliefs depicting horses, known as the ‘Six Chargers of the Emperor Taizong’, dated 649, which were set into the emperor's tomb, now in the Penn Museum, object number C395. Compare a marble horse head, dated Tang dynasty, 17.7 cm tall, in the Los Angeles Museum of Art, accession number M.71.73.105. Auction result comparison: Type: Related Auction: Bonhams London, 6 November 2025, lot 123 Price: GBP 5,376 or approx. EUR 6,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Expert remark: Compare the similar treatment of the straps. Note the size (40 cm) and different stone. 13% VAT will be added to the hammer price additional to the buyer's premium - only for buyers within the EU.

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