A Pair of Chinese Painted Terracotta Female Polo Players with Horses

A pair of fine hollow-mould Chinese terracotta female equestrians, each portrayed astride a galloping horse, with their heads turned towards each other. The female polo players are shown sitting on the horses, and display typical characteristics of court ladies of the Tang Dynasty. Their faces are sensitively painted with elaborate details, they have elongated eyes, pointed noses, dimpled chins and crisply carved mouths painted in red. Their rosy, full cheeks and make up indicate their status in the imperial court, which might be as princesses or concubines. Their elaborate coiffures are drawn up into a loose loop which hangs slightly forward. Their hands are raised to grasp the polo sticks which they would once have held. The galloping hollow-moulded horses feature well-defined ears, eyes, noses and nostrils. Their eyes, saddles and trappings have been added in black pigment. The horses extend their legs in a dynamic pose in mid-air to give the illusion of the action of a polo game.  The original pigmentation survives largely intact.