Mortuary Figurine
C409
Location: On Display in the Asia Galleries
From: China
Curatorial Section: Asian
Native Name | Mingqi |
Object Number | C409 |
Current Location | Asia Galleries - On Display |
Culture | Chinese |
Provenience | China |
Period | Tang Dynasty |
Date Made | Tang Dynasty |
Section | Asian |
Materials | Clay | Glaze |
Technique | Glazed | Fired |
Iconography | Horse |
Description | Mortuary pottery horse, glazed. With green saddle. Symbolizing status and power, horse figurines would have been placed with other ceremonial and everyday objects in a tomb. In the Tang Dynasty, the saddled horse was more common than the ox cart which in earlier periods symbolized a means of transport to the afterlife. The tri-color glaze, known as sancai, was more expensive then plain terra cotta. It should indicate that the horses were made for an aristocratic occupant. Often mass-produced using a piece-mold technique, horses were slightly altered through adjustments in the neck and legs. |
Credit Line | Purchased from C. T. Loo, 1924 |
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