Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

Ashmolean − Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

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Figure of a prancing horse

  • loan

Glossary (2)

earthenware, luted

  • earthenware

    Ceramic material made of clay which is fired to a temperature of c.1000-1200⁰c. The resulting ceramic is non-vitreous and varies in colour from dark red to yellow.

  • luted

    The fusion of parts of ceramics using dilute clay slip.

Location

    • currently in research collection

Objects are sometimes moved to a different location. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis. Contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular object on display, or would like to arrange an appointment to see an object in our reserve collections.

 

Publications online

  • The Barlow Collection by the University of Sussex

    The Barlow Collection

    The horse is standing on three legs, the fourth raised high in the air, the neck turned sharply to the left in an exaggerated pose, the massive head with combed mane and with mouth open, the tail docked and tied up. The saddle is placed on an angular blanket and covered with a cloth, which is tied together on both sides. The pale grey body is coated with a white dressing and shows traces of red and other pigments. The underside is open and the figure hollow. The piece has been adapted from a genuine figure of a standing horse, the neck, head and right leg being modern additions.

    Tang (AD 618–907) figures of horses of this basic type, but standing four square on a rectangular plinth, are fairly common. The legs have almost never survived intact. Prancing horses are also known of the Tang dynasty, but are very rare and differently modelled, since the stance of the horse naturally differs in this pose. A good example of a prancing horse is illustrated in H. d’Ardenne de Tizac, La Sculpture Chinoise, Paris, 1931, pl.XVI top. Tang dynasty horses also generally do not have the head twisted in this extreme pose.

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