Figure
700-750 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This magnificent tomb figure is proof of the passion the Chinese have for beautiful pure-bred horses from the West. The intelligent and alert turn of the horse's head and the energy of its well-muscled body is testament to the immense skill of the Tang potter. Emperors of the Tang dynasty (618-907) kept their horses in special stables and parks that occupied large tracts of land around the Tang capital Chang'an (present-day Xian in Shaanxi province). Important tombs held models of these desirable animals.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Earthenware, with coloured lead glazes |
| Brief description | Tomb figure of a horse, earthenware with coloured lead glazes, 700-750, Tang dynasty, Chinese. |
| Physical description | The horse stands erect with head turned slightly to the left, on a small, thinly potted base. The bristling mane and tail are coloured a deep amber yellow, the cloth covered saddle is green, the parts of the under-saddle in dark brown and mottled green, brown and white, the harness and other applied, stamped trappings in dark brown. The body of the horse is in a straw-white glaze, unevenly mottled and tinged with the other colours. |
| Dimensions |
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| Styles | |
| Gallery label |
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| Credit line | Solomon Gift |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This magnificent tomb figure is proof of the passion the Chinese have for beautiful pure-bred horses from the West. The intelligent and alert turn of the horse's head and the energy of its well-muscled body is testament to the immense skill of the Tang potter. Emperors of the Tang dynasty (618-907) kept their horses in special stables and parks that occupied large tracts of land around the Tang capital Chang'an (present-day Xian in Shaanxi province). Important tombs held models of these desirable animals. |
| Bibliographic reference | Liefkes, Reino and Hilary Young (eds.) Masterpieces of World Ceramics in the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: V&A Publishing, 2008
p. 32 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | C.50-1964 |
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| Record created | February 9, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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