CHINA, Tang Dynasty, late 7th/early 8th century Large terracotta horse with lead glaze "sancai" (tricolour : green, brown and cream) , standing with all four legs on a thin square base, head turned slightly to the right with mouth open, appearing to neigh, and caparisoned with a fur blanket (with quilted reverse) laid over the saddle, as well as tassels and pompoms hanging from its harness (body and head), its amber-brown enamelled coat with runners along the legs, its brush-cut mane and knotted cream-coloured tail, the multicoloured harness and partly striped blanket. H. 49.5 cm- L. 48 cm (approx.) LdM Shock and missing with repaint on part of the breeching (croup harness) and on the croup, repaint on the whole croup (from the saddle to the tail and under the tail). Accident and restoration to the bottom of the four legs, with cracks and repainting. Repainted in front of the saddle, and slightly on the neck. Some cracks and missing glaze (lips, dewclaws). Provenance: acquired at Sotheby's and given as a gift by a client to an Italian family in the late 1960s/early 1970s (oral information, with a document from the Sotheby's representative office in Rome). This horse is a fine example of the skills of Chinese sculptors and ceramists of the Tang dynasty. It also shows the passion that the Chinese had for these so-called "celestial" horses, which had been imported from Central Asia (the Ferghana Valley) since the Han dynasty. Their almost legendary beauty, strength and speed made them highly prized mounts for the nobility and the upper classes. The emperor had stables full of them and had his favourite horses painted, as shown in the famous painting by Han Gan in the Metropolitan Museum of New York, a "portrait" of Zhaoyebai ("White illuminating the night"), one of the stallions of the emperor Xuanzong (712-756). Horses were a mark of wealth and rank during their owner's lifetime, so representations of these animals were usually found in their tombs, where the deceased's living environment and possessions were recreated. The charm of some of the finest examples from the Tang dynasty lies not only in the beauty of the form, but also in the famous brightly-coloured sancai glaze, with its characteristic drips. An example in the British Museum, of similar size and colour (only the harness differs slightly), comes from the Seligman Collection, 1973,0726.198.