Horse (late 600s–800): Art, History and Details

Horse (late 600s–800) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This ceramic horse was part of a set of figures depicting a procession, all of which was included in the tomb of a person of high rank. In ancient China tombs were equipped with all the items it was thought to be needed in the afterlife—including horses, as an essential mode of transportation.

Object facts

• Title: Horse
• Date: late 600s–800
• Culture: China, probably Henan province, Tang dynasty (618–907)
• Type: Sculpture
• Technique: glazed earthenware, sancai (three-color) ware
• Dimensions: Overall: 76.8 cm (30 1/4 in.)
• Collection: China - Tang Dynasty
• Department: Chinese Art
• Accession number: 1955.295

A detail from the museum

Sancai (three-color) glazes in green, amber, and transparent white show the high social status of the tomb’s occupant.

Collection credit

Anonymous Gift

Further reading listed by the museum

• The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.
• Lee, Sherman, and Wai-Kam Ho. "Three Hourses and Four Grooms." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 48, no. 4 (April 1961): 66-71.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.