This Tang Dynasty (618-907) sancai (tri-colored glazed pottery) sculpture captures a blue-robed Hu rider, hair tied in two knots, riding his chestnut, muscular, and powerful horse. Its rich, steady glazes and elegant modeling preserve the energy of a gallop from over a thousand years ago.
Unearthed in 1966 from a Tang tomb at a pharmaceutical factory site in Lianhu district, Xi'an, Shaanxi province, the sculpture is now one of the crown jewels of the Xi'an Museum.