Relief
| Object Number: | C396 |
|---|---|
| Current Location: |
Asia Galleries Currently On Display |
| Culture: | Chinese |
| Provenience: | China Shaanxi Xi'an Zhaoling |
| Period: | Tang Dynasty |
| Date Made: | 649 CE |
| Early Date: | 649 |
| Late Date: | 649 |
| Section: | Asian |
| Materials: | Limestone |
| Technique: | Carved Bas Relief |
| Iconography: | Tang Taizong Horse Horse Quanmaogua 拳毛騧 |
| Height: | 166.4 cm |
| Length: | 207 cm |
| Width: | 44.4 cm |
| Credit Line: | Purchased from C. T. Loo; Subscription of Eldridge R. Johnson, 1920 |
Description
The Taizong Emperor made his reputation as a great military leader who, together with his father, founded the Tang dynasty in 618 CE. Of the thousands of horses who aided the Emperor in his quest for territory and military supremacy only six were chosen to be enshrined at his Mausoleum, Zhaoling. Not only did each horse have its own name and unique set of attributes, they each received a laudatory poem composed by the Emperor. Their exploits come down to us through written accounts of the battles in which they played a decisive role. Each of the horses depicted on a relief was instrumental in one of Taizong’s major victories. The horse depicted here is “Quanmaogua” whose name refers to his curly hair. The horse is shown wounded by nine arrows, six in the front and three in the back, but still walking briskly and with a spirit that defies his wounds.
Current & Past Exhibitions:
| In A Rush? Take a Quick Tour of The Museum ( Sep 1996 - Jun 1997) | View Objects in Exhibition |
| China Gallery (22 Feb 2017) | View Objects in Exhibition |
| Chinese Halls (1941 - 1966) | View Objects in Exhibition |
| Chinese Rotunda (1968 - 22 Feb 2017) | View Objects in Exhibition |
Bibliography:
| [Article] Zhou, Xiuqin. Apr 2009. "The Mausoleum of Emperor Tang Taizong". Sino-Platonic Papers. Philadelphia. University of Pennsylvania. Vol. 187. Actual Citation | View Objects related to this Actual Citation |
| [Article] Steinhardt, Nancy S. 2008. "The Chinese Rotunda". Arts of Asia. Kowloon. Arts of Asia Publications, Ltd. Vol. 38. no. 5. pg. 83-95 Actual Citation : Page/Fig./Plate: Pg. 95, Fig. 32 | View Objects related to this Actual Citation |
| [Article] Zhou, Xiuqin. 2005. "Excavations at Zhaoling, Shaanxi, China: More Light on the Museum's Chinese Horse Reliefs". Expedition: The Magazine of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Philadelphia. The University Museum. Vol. 47. no. 2. pg. 38-39 Actual Citation | View Objects related to this Actual Citation |
| [Article] Zhou, Xiuqin. 2001. "Emperor Taizong and His Six Horses". Orientations (Hong Kong). Hong Kong. Orientations Magazine Ltd. Vol. 32. no. 2. pg. 40-46 Actual Citation : Page/Fig./Plate: 41 | View Objects related to this Actual Citation |
| [Book] Madeira, Percy C. 1964. Men in Search of Man: The First Seventy-Five Years of the University Museum of the University of Pennsylvania.. University of Pennsylvania Press. Actual Citation : Page/Fig./Plate: p. 91 | View Objects related to this Actual Citation |
| [Article] Jayne, Horace H. 1941. "The Chinese Collections of The University Museum: A Handbook of the Principal Objects". The University Museum Bulletin. Philadelphia. The University Museum. Vol. 9. no. 2-3. pg. 9-50 Actual Citation : Page/Fig./Plate: Pg. 48 Fig. 46 | View Objects related to this Actual Citation |
| [Article] Fernald, Helen E. 1941. "In Defense of the Horses of T'ang T'ai Tsung". The University Museum Bulletin. Philadelphia. The University Museum. Vol. 9. no. 4. pg. 18-28 Actual Citation : Page/Fig./Plate: 18-28 | View Objects related to this Actual Citation |
| [Article] Ferguson, John C. 1936. "The Six Horses of T'ang T'ai Tsung". Journal of the North China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. Vol. 67. Actual Citation : Page/Fig./Plate: pp. 1-8, pls. V-VI | View Objects related to this Actual Citation |
| [Article] Fernald, Helen E. 1935. "The Horses of T'ang T'ai Tsung and the Stele of Yu". Journal of the American Oriental Society. Vol. 55. no. No. 4 Dec.. pg. 420-428 Actual Citation : Page/Fig./Plate: Fig. 2 | View Objects related to this Actual Citation |
| [Article] Jayne, Horace H. 1935. "The Museum's Loan to Burlington House ( for International Exhibition of Chinese Art held in London 1935-36)". The University Museum Bulletin. Philadelphia. The University Museum. Vol. 6. no. 1. pg. 17-21 Actual Citation : Page/Fig./Plate: pp. 7-11, pl. 6 | View Objects related to this Actual Citation |
| [Article] Ferguson, John C. 1931. "The Six Horses at the Tomb of the Emperor T'ai Tsung of the T'ang Dynasty". Eastern Art. Philadelphia. College Art Association of America. Vol. 3. pg. 61-71 Actual Citation | View Objects related to this Actual Citation |
| [Article] Springer, Anton. 1929. "Die ostasiatische Kunst". Handbuch der Kunstgeschichte. Leipzig. Alfred Kroner Verlag. Vol. 6. pg. 43, 50, pl. 68 Actual Citation : Page/Fig./Plate: pp. 49, 54 | View Objects related to this Actual Citation |
| [Book] March, Benjamin. 1929. China and Japan in our Museums.. New York. American Council, Institute of Pacific Relations. Actual Citation : Page/Fig./Plate: p. 87 | View Objects related to this Actual Citation |
| [Book] Siren, Osvald. 1925. Chinese sculpture from the fifth to the fourteenth century; over 900 specimens in stone, bronze, lacquer and wood, principally from northern China.. London. E. Benn, Ltd. Actual Citation : Page/Fig./Plate: pg. 116, Plate 426B | View Objects related to this Actual Citation |
| [Book] Munsterberg, Oskar. 1924. Chinesische Kunstgeschichte.. Esslingen a. N. : P. Neff. Vol. 1. Actual Citation : Page/Fig./Plate: p. 162, abb. 123 | View Objects related to this Actual Citation |
| [Book] Ashton, Leigh. 1924. An Introduction to the Study of Chinese Sculpture.. London. E. Benn, Ltd. Actual Citation : Page/Fig./Plate: pl. 47 | View Objects related to this Actual Citation |
| [Article] Waley, Arthur. 1923. "T'ai Tsung's Six Chargers". The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs. London. Vol. 43. no. No. 246. Actual Citation : Page/Fig./Plate: pp. 117-118 | View Objects related to this Actual Citation |
| [Article] Pelliot, Paul. 1923. "Les statues en laque seche dans l'ancien art chinois". Journal Asiatique. Paris. Vol. (April - June). pg. 181-207 Actual Citation : Page/Fig./Plate: pp. 202 | View Objects related to this Actual Citation |
| [Article] Bishop, Carl W. 1918. "Horses of T'ang T'ai Tsung". The Museum Journal. Philadelphia. The University Museum. Vol. IX. no. Nos. 3-4. Actual Citation : Page/Fig./Plate: 265-272, figs. 75, 76 | View Objects related to this Actual Citation |
| [Book] Chavannes, Edouard. 1909. Mission Archeologique dans la Chine Septentrionale.. Paris. E. Leroux. Actual Citation : Page/Fig./Plate: Plate: 289, No. 442 | View Objects related to this Actual Citation |
| [Book] Bushell, Stephen W. 1904. Chinese Art.. London. Victoria and Albert Museum. Vol. Vol. 1. Actual Citation : Page/Fig./Plate: p. 43, Fig. 18 | View Objects related to this Actual Citation |
| [Article] Reinach, Salomon. 1901. "Le Representation du Galop dans l'Art Ancien et Moderne". Revue Archeologique. Vol. T.38. no. Janvier-Juin. Actual Citation : Page/Fig./Plate: 92 | View Objects related to this Actual Citation |
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