That is a very nice statue and an excellent price considering its age and size. I think it will look very dramatic on your sideboard. It's interesting how different eras have their own ideas of what an ancient piece should look like and almost instinctively make it conform to what they feel comfortable with. When I looked at the statue it looked somewhat Tang but it is not a replica, which should not bother you at all. It has its own value as an antique.

This is a picture of my Tang horse, which is a polo pony with a female rider. It's probably around 600 A.D. although there's no way to be sure, and it's also heavily reconstructed since very few of these fragile pieces were ever found intact. These were originally painted but since they were buried most of the color has worn off. Your horse will be much less fragile, which is a good thing.

Please show updates. I love your DR.

Did any of you see "The Million Dollar Listing L.A." episode where Josh Flagg sells his grandmother's home and includes two gorgeous horses in it? I can't remember which dynasty they were supposedly from but, Josh said they were worth $50,000 each. I'll try to find a better link about the episode, including photos. This is just from someone's blog.

I've always wanted one of these but, I can't imagine being able to afford one.

I'd love to see more photos! Your dining room is so pretty. I rent a small one bedroom apartment in San Francisco and have been here for years. It's such an expensive city and getting worse by the day but, it's also beautiful and I'm spoiled by the weather.

http://tamaratattles.com/2015/09/12/million-dollar-listing-la-recap-dinner-party-disaster/

Ingrid, your living room is beautiful and so are the many Asian art elements in it. I especially love the way you've featured your horse. I have no idea what price points one can expect to pay for these exquisite sculptures but, you're very lucky indeed.

lisa and Nancy, I'm not sure whether you're talking about dyhgarden's DR or mine.

These horses vary greatly in price depending on size, provenance, how much they've been reconstructed, the artistry of the statue and, in the end, how much someone is willing to pay for a particular one. In a fierce bidding war, the price can go up and up. Mine is of lower quality and not that large, so I didn't have to rob a bank to pay for it.

Ingrid's horse is ancient. The one I'm considering is from the 19th century, not 600 A.D.

There is a duck in the auction that is ancient, that was buried at some point. I'm thinking about it for another spot. I'll have to see how high the bidding goes tomorrow. I'm one of those people who waits until the last hour to bid! I checked out the sold prices of the Asian art auction that was held in November. The market is off right now, so the pieces went for much less than I would have expected.

Nancy - Josh Flagg's partner, Colton, is the son of one of my friends who has an apartment in Paris. She's so nice and was just in SF to visit her daughters and grandchildren. I think she's in LA right now and will be back in Paris when I return in the fall. Both Colton and his mother are interior designers.

I know of a gal who was gifted a FULL SIZE fiber glass horse...it found a place in her home.

Ingrid - what a fabulous piece!

Dy, I think it's perfect, and it isn't something you would find used on a table like many other things....a floral/plant arrangement, candlesticks, for example. I found a vintage alabaster Tang horse in a San Diego antique store 10 years ago and purchased it as a birthday gift for middle DD. She loved Asian art, but I didn't want to go overboard, and I thought this would be perfect. She and I were both born in the year of the horse(Chinese astrology)which was another reason. It's fairly large, and she has it displayed on a half wall by the front door. She decorates it during the Christmas season with a holly wreath around it's neck. I say GET IT! ;)

(Why do I keep reading the title of this thread as something along the lines of "Does this horse make my butt look big"?????)

The second horse is too big. The first one is perrrrfect.

I went to see the horse in person and it isn't nearly as big as I had imagined, It won't look out of proportion. Guess I'll bid on it.

If you like the horse and the price is reasonable, as it seems to be, it's actually a bargain. Anything that's a genuine antique nowadays (antique means more than 100 years old) and is impressive, like your horse, usually would sell higher than that. It also depends on where you live. The West Coast is much higher because compared to the East as we don't have nearly as many antiques. I'll be curious to see what happens.

It used to be a given that at reputable auctions everything was authentic, but sadly that's no longer true, with fakes turning up even at Christie's and Sotheby's. Even tomb figures like mine are being faked big time in China. It used to be that if you put a dab of water on one of them and it smelled very strongly of earth it was authentic. Apparently that's no longer true. I'll be interested to see your duck if you buy it.

I hope you don't mind if I show you my oldest piece, a very primitive but rather endearing dog figure, who seems to be of the Chow variety, from the Han dynasty, which lasted from 206 B.C. to 220 A.D. The crude and unsophisticated design has something poignant about it, and for me is an incredible and yet humble artifact from a very ancient and faraway culture.

Ingrid, I found it to be just the opposite while shopping in SD 2 years ago. I was down in Ocean Beach and even the higher end shops didn't seem out of line, but very reasonable in comparison to higher end shops here. Antique shops are in abundance in Austin, as well as the surrounding areas, It must be Texas in general since i've also shopped in Dallas and Houston and found prices higher. Even Wilmington NC, as small as it is, things were pricey. GA, NC, SC imo, are waaay pricey but maybe it's because it's considered 'east coast perse', but really is the south. I've never had the opportunity to shop on the 'real' east coast. Maybe next year. ;)

Who knew, patty? Maybe Texas is where I should be doing my antique shopping. I can imagine things being cheaper there than in San Diego. On the east coast what I've heard is that you can still find cheap treasures in out of the way flea markets and country auctions where the audience in general won't know as much about antiques, not the fancy antique shops. People there have a longer history than on the west coast, and grandma still has stuff in her attic which her heirs won't value and practically give away because that stuff is ugly to them. However, nowadays you find the Chinese everywhere, and they will buy out whole stores because businessmen from China seem to have money to burn.

I hope it's not presumptuous to post pictures of my dining room, just in case lisa and Nancy were talking about mine. They're uncensored and untouched, complete with cat dishes and slowly dying ficus benjamina.

Ingrid, I love your dog statue! You and dyhgarden have made wonderful choices!

I love seeing your dog and dining room, Ingrid. I know what you mean about wetting the clay to see if it's absorbed/smells to determine authenticity. I've read there are fakes that have had real clay from the area plugged in where appraisers test the objects. The markings on Asian art are very difficult for me to decipher.

I didn't realize that you're in San Diego. I purchased one of my Tim Cotterill bronze enameled frogs from the Whitt Krauss Gallery (are they now closed?). Another came from an art gallery in Sausalito. The third, I bought from this same auction house and paid 1/2 of the retail value.

Buying nice decor objects in true antique gallery-level stores here in the south is expensive, especially Southern pottery. Sometimes the designs that I'd never like turn out to be the most expensive! Vintage items aren't nearly as expensive, unless by a specific designer, and can be found in consignment shops.

Buy it, it will look stunning on the sideboard, quite a statement piece!

Love the dog, Ingrid!

The horse is beautiful and will be a stunning piece for that room. I hope the bidding stays in your range and you get the horse. You'll be happy with it, I think.

dyhgarden, I don't actually live in San Diego, but in a hilly, somewhat rural area in northeast San Diego County. San Diego is much too crowded now, and we love the country and having few neighbors. I buy almost everything on-line, not only antiques, because the traffic has become so horrible around here. I'm not familiar with the Whitt Krauss Gallery, sorry.

Love that horse!

I agree about pricing east coast vs west. The real finds though are in the midwest. I live in Ohio and love MCM and we have it in abundance. I lived in Denver for a long time and the thrift shops were full of 1990's crap. In Ohio you can still find great stuff at garage and estate sales and thrift shops. We have a declining and aging population which makes for great shopping if nothing else. lol

Dy, the WK Gallery sounds very familar. Is it in Seaport Village or maybe Coronado? There are so many galleries it's hard to remember where they're located.

Ingrid, that's why I left after having been there 25+ years. I also lived in a nice quiet area, but driving to work was a nightmare. I retired shortly before I moved here, and as luck would have it, traffic is now out of control here since the influx of Californians as well as many other states. Seems like no one I meet is from Austin. Well, at least I don't work now. The dog statue is so unique. If you were to put him in the window it would look as though you had a pet. ;)

Ingrid's dog....WANT!

Yes, Patty -- the WK Gallery was in Seaport Village. It had to be 15 years ago (or more).

I got this horse (Mustang Sally) for Christmas...it was too big for my sofa table so I had to put her outside.

Good idea about decorating her for Christmas...the horse not my DGD.

Oh what a cool horse and beautiful granddaughter!

tibbrix, if I give you my dog I'll cry - you wouldn't want that. He's grown quite attached to me....

How did the auction end, dyhgarden?

Since others are posting their horse statues, here is one that was in the backyard of our second home in CO. Can't tell from the pictures, but it was life size. It was the one thing left behind I would have loved to bring back to AL.

Allison, Now that is cool!!

Love the horse Allison

Love seeing all these art objects!

The auction ends in an hour, and I'm up to $190, but there are now 21 bidders!

Dhy, Fingers crossed that you win.

I hope you win, dyhgarden!

I just received a confusing message saying I've been outbid, but I'm still showing as high bidder....hmmm...there's some tech delay somewhere. This is where I get nervous. Must pay attention and will be back to the forums after this ends. It's a "soft close" at 6pm. If outbid, I have 5 minutes to bid. Then, that person has 5 minutes, etc.

Good luck, dyhgarden!

And Allison - whereabouts in CO is that horse? **getting in vehicle, preparing to go lift it** ;-D

Well, let's just say you can see Beaver Creek ski slopes from the house and leave it at that! We will start a GoFundMe account for your bail, just in case.

Well, I didn't get it. I bid up to $260 (w/o the buyer's fee) and then a dear friend in Paris called and needed to talk. We lost another mutual dear friend two weeks ago. We just got off the phone since it is well past midnight for him.

I can't see where the winning bid ended. They'll likely post the results next week. Oh well, my friend was more important.

Sorry to hear about your loss.

Our friend thought she'd beaten cancer from many years ago. It came back.. She leaves a 12 yo son and 21 yo daughter. Very sad for her children. Their father died years ago.

I made a flower arrangement from my yard today--azalea, camellia and quince blooms...leaving this thread on a better note.

(((((Hugs)))))

Sorry about your friend. Puts things in perspective.

I'm so very sorry. So sad for you and everyone who cared for her. The flowers are a lovely remembrance.

I am so sorry about your friend.

There will be other horses.

I'm very sorry for the loss of your friend.

Oh, dhygarden, I'm so very sorry about your friend. :(

I'm so sorry to hear about your friend.

Your flower arrangement is beautiful.

@dhygarden, I'm sorry I didn't see this sooner. It's so hard to recover from the loss of a good friend. I also lost a good friend and neighbor at the end of October last year. She was fighting ovarian cancer and seemed to be doing quite well when she suddenly passed away from a stroke. I see her husband and their little Yorkie, Oliver whenever I walk by the house. Oliver sometimes comes running over to visit if his "dad" is working in the garage. He has a crush on my Siamese. I hope you are healing. I enjoyed reading everyone's posts and seeing your photos as well. I also fell in love with Ingrid's little dog! I adore cats and dogs.

I am so sorry to hear about your friend. You have been through so much. I just wanted to say I wish I could give you a huge hug!

Who doesn't like horse art? I think horses are always a great choice for a room or a garden or a park or wherever. They lift our spirits.