Horse-shaped Objects

Horse-shaped Objects		Warring States Period----Tang dynasty Bronze Horse Pottery Horse Pottery Horse Jade Flying Steed Pottery Horse Pottery Horse Three-color Glazed Pottery Horse Three-color Glazed Pottery Horse Three-color Glazed Pottery Hunter On A Horse Three-color Glazed Pottery Hunter On A Horse Jade Crouching Horse Bronze Mirror With The Design of Dancing Horse Bronze Mirror With The Design Of Playing Polo Song dynasty----Yuan dynasty Black-on-white Porcelain Pillow with the Design of circus Pottery Horse Jade Paperweight in the shape of Horse Herder Ming dynasty----Qing dynasty A Man on Horse, Bamboo Carving Covered Porcelain Jar With Design of Horse and Sea in contending colors Blue and White Stem Porcelain Bowl With Design of Dragon and Horse Five-colored Covered Porcelain Jar with Design of Horse and Sea Bowl with Design of Horse and Sea in Cloisonné Enamel Bronze Horse Carrying Books Horse-shaped Bronze Incense Burner Basin With Three Hydras and Design of Horse and Sea in Cloisonné Enamel Basin With Hydra ears and Design of Horse and Sea in Cloisonné Enamel Painted Pottery Male Rider-on-horse Painted enamel Handwarmer with Design of Horse Carrying the Eight Diagrams Jade Twin Horses Horse Carrying Books on Back in the Sea Jade Horse Carrying a Monkey Jade Snuff Bottle with Design of Three Rams and A Horse Agate Snuff Bottle with Design of Monkey and Horse Rhinoceros Horn Cup with Design of Hunting Bamboo Brush Container Carved with Design of Hunting Bamboo Brush Container Carved with Design of Eight Steeds by Shang Xun Bamboo Brush Container Carved with Design of Herding Horses in spring Bamboo Brush Container with Design of Cleaning Horses by River under a Pine Tree by Wu Zhipan Boxwood Brush Container Carved with Design of men riding on horse announcing a victory Red Sandalwood Rectangle Box Inlaid with Jewellery of Hunting Figurines Red Sandalwood Rectangle Box Inlaid with Jewellery of Hunting Figurines Bamboo Brush Container Carved with Design of Rolling Horse by Wu Zhipan Eggplant-purple Glazed Paperweight with Design of Monkey on the Back of a Horse Blue and White Porcelain Brush Container with Design of Eight Steeds, Ge ware Blue and White Porcelain Jar with figurine Copying After the mark of Jiajing's Reign *Bamboo Brush Container Carved with Design of 12 Animals of Years
	The shape and motive of horse were widely applied in all kinds of artworks in ancient China, such as bronze wares, stone carving, ceramics, jade wares, lacquer wares and carvings of bamboo, wood and ivory. Studying the development of the objects in the shape of horse, we can divide the history into 3 stages. In the first stage from the Warring States Period to Tang Dynasty, the horse-shaped objects mainly show the militancy of horse. With the improvement of horse fighting power in the battle, the military horses became the symbol of the strength of an army. The statues of the horse stepping on a Xiongnu in front of the tomb of General Huo Qubing and 6 steeds in front of Zhaoling Mausoleum (the tomb of Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty) show us the bright and brave characteristics of the horses, from Han pottery horse to Tang three-color glazed horse, full of power and grandeur in the battle. In the second stage from Tang Dynasty to Song, Liao, Jin and Yuan Dynasties, though the horse-shaped objects followed the characteristics of the previous dynasties, the enjoyment function of horse in the daily life became the top decoration theme of various artworks, such as horse dance, horsemanship, horse circus and horse ball, etc. In the third stage from Ming and Qing Dynasties, with the popularity of auspicious design, the characteristics of horse were applied in various motives with more morals and more colorful contents. For example, the design of 8 horses is so called 8-steeds-painting, with the meaning of winning immediate success; the design of horse with bee or monkey on its back having the meaning of being an official immediately; the design of playing children riding paper or wood horse, and the design of a scene showing horse-riding in a traditional opera, are called knife horse and people. Taking a panoramic view of the above three stages, we can get to know the general development of the horse-shaped objects. These objects reflect the close relationship between people and horse in the traditional Chinese culture.
	Column writers: Yang Jingrong,Ding Meng,Liu Yue,Feng Hejun,Hu Guoqiang,Wang Guangrao, Yang Jie,Liu Jing,Zhang Li
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