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Subject:CELESTIAL HORSE GRECO-BACTRIAN KINGDOM 4TH CENTURY
Posted By: Bill H Fri, Jan 20, 2023 IP: 64.187.128.166 This photo showing a bronze finial sculpted in the form of a "Celestial or Heavenly Horse" (Tianma - 天馬) is alleged to date to the 4th century Greco-Bactrian Kingdom in North China. It came my way via a long time acquaintance and friend, an art appraiser with scant experience in things Chinese, who'd received it from a client interested in knowing whether he was correctly informed by the seller. I recall that Time Magazine did a cover story in the late 1960s, after archeologists in China's Gansu province dug up a bronze horse that they called the "Ten Thousand league horse" (Qianlima - 千里馬) ). My search for information on Google turned up a couple of identical images and accompanying information, much of it apparently stemming from the Museum Journal published by the University of Pennsylvania. |
Subject:Re: CELESTIAL HORSE GRECO-BACTRIAN KINGDOM 4TH CENTURY
Posted By: Steve Gridley Sat, Jan 21, 2023 The first thing I would do is obtain exact measurements of the museum horse (which seems to have been properly authenticated) and compare with dimensions of your horse. If it is a cast of the original it should be slightly smaller unless the sizes differ considerably. I would also perform a non-destructive test (such as XRF) on both for elemental consistency. If both were produced in a close time frame in the same area, they both would likely have similar elemental signatures. |
Subject:Re: CELESTIAL HORSE GRECO-BACTRIAN KINGDOM 4TH CENTURY
Posted By: Bill H Sat, Jan 21, 2023 I'll see if the measurements are available and report back, |
Subject:Re: CELESTIAL HORSE GRECO-BACTRIAN KINGDOM 4TH CENTURY
Posted By: Bill H Sun, Jan 22, 2023 I erred in my supposition that the finial might be a reproduction before contacting my appraiser friend, but looking through his emails to me on the subject, I discovered I'd missed one of his attachments with the following write-up of his discussions with his native Kazakh client, a descendant of the ruler mentioned below and who was seeking a modern-day opinion. |
Subject:Re: CELESTIAL HORSE GRECO-BACTRIAN KINGDOM 4TH CENTURY
Posted By: Robert Sun, Jan 22, 2023 If the museum horse was made using the lost wax process it would presumably be unique (since the wax is burned out prior to casting and the original mold broken to retrieve the figure). Later copies could have been made from the original figure using a piece mold but these will usually have tail tail traces of a mold seam absent from the original lost wax casting, or evidence that a seam was ground off and polished. However, if the original was made from a piece mold there could be multiple copies, ancient and modern, difficult to distinguish. As an aside, I have an Egyptian Horus falcon that is a piece-molded copy of a lost wax cast original in the Met Museum collection, possibly made in the late 1920s (the original having been excavated in the mid 1920s). |
Subject:Re: CELESTIAL HORSE GRECO-BACTRIAN KINGDOM 4TH CENTURY
Posted By: Robert Sun, Jan 22, 2023 Also, if the body of the horse figure is hollow-cast there should be remnants of a ceramic core potentially amenable to TL testing. |
Subject:Re: CELESTIAL HORSE GRECO-BACTRIAN KINGDOM 4TH CENTURY
Posted By: Bill H Sun, Jan 22, 2023 Robert, I much appreciate these additional observations and comments. I noticed what looks like tool marks on the lower part of the finial beneath the legs and wondered what it might signify regarding the finishing process and period of production. Anyone know? |
Subject:Re: CELESTIAL HORSE GRECO-BACTRIAN KINGDOM 4TH CENTURY
Posted By: Steve Gridley Fri, Jan 27, 2023 I would start with finding a copy of the Kao Gong ji (考工记) by Lin Xiyi 林希逸 c1235. There are recent english translations available. |
Subject:Re: CELESTIAL HORSE GRECO-BACTRIAN KINGDOM 4TH CENTURY
Posted By: Bill H Fri, Jan 27, 2023 Appreciate the suggestions. |
Subject:Re: CELESTIAL HORSE GRECO-BACTRIAN KINGDOM 4TH CENTURY
Posted By: James Thu, Feb 23, 2023 You may find this article helpful: |
Subject:Re: CELESTIAL HORSE GRECO-BACTRIAN KINGDOM 4TH CENTURY
Posted By: Bill H Fri, Feb 24, 2023 Very interesting indeed. Have forwarded it to my pal the appraiser, who should be delighted too. |
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