I am frequently amazed with what I find in the houses in Louisville, KY.
Nicknamed Fred by my oldest, this Han Dynasty Terracotta Horse dates from 200 BC to 200 AD. It is large example that is four and a half feet tall. These pieces were traditionally housed in wooden beamed underground chambers, the majority of which collapsed. For that reason, we expect to see damage. If the condition of a piece is too good to be true, it often is not to be trusted. The best diagnostic tool anyone can have is their eyes and gut instincts. 
In Malcolm Gladwell's book, Blink, he recounts the perils of relying on technology at the expense of your instincts. Gladwell details The Getty Museum's purchase of a statue based on scientific results to their detriment. With that in mind, we still will use the best diagnostic tools at our disposal, but always weigh those results with other analysis. With this piece we have used two tests. The first is a TL test (Thermoluminescence). This we can't illustrate here, but a TL test will measure when the clay was originally fired. The second test is a good old fashioned X-Ray. Luckily, in Kentucky there are plenty of Horse Vets with portable X-Ray machines. Below you will see the results of these X-Rays, detailing where this piece was restored. Each of the lines in the X-Rays show where the horse was broken and re-assembled. 
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