A pair of Chinese painted grey pottery figures of equestrians

Each is modelled wearing soldier's armour, seated on a horse modelled foursquare, painted with dark pigment.

Catalogue notes: Compare a very similar set of five equestrians sold at Sotheby's New York, 19-20 March 2013, lot 80, one of which was stamped with a maker's mark. A large group of such equestrian figures was excavated in the tombs of Zhou Bo and Zhou Yafu, a Han dynasty general and his son, at Yangjiawan in Shaanxi province and are illustrated in Zhongguo taoci quanji, vol 3, Shanghai, 2000, pl. 72, 74, 82, and 88.

The results of the Oxford Authentication Thermoluminescence tests no. C108k27 (the rider with the red sleeves) & C108k28 (the rider with the blue sleeves) are consistent with the dating of this lot.