Etched Bronze Flying Horse colour-terracotta The body of the lion

The body of the lion is etched with decorative

The arched aprons below each main panel are similarly carved and painted and even the four feet at the base are carved in the form of trees and lavishly dressed figures

This smaller

ornate carvings are distinctive of furniture produced in the Shaanxi region and depict various flowers

Typically stacked in twos or threes in bedrooms or placed on top of cabinets to store winter clothes or bedding

Etched Bronze Flying Horse colour-terracotta The body of the lionThis cast bronze horse is a reproduction of a similar horse unearthed in Gansu province in 1969 that dated from the Han dynasty (206BC 220AD). The original is now in the Gansu Provincial Museum, but this one is in the same pose, shown mid gallop with one of its hooves on a flying swallow a pose which gave the Han dynasty horse its name the 'Flying Horse of Gansu'. The dark base is beautifully etched around the horse's back, flanks and head in