Date: Song dynasty (960-1279)
Dimensions: Height 11.3 cm, Length 7.4 cm, Width 2.5 cm
The Shanghai Museum
Gift of Fang Liang
The five ceramic horses of this section are small pottery works, lively in form and varied in glaze, reflecting the rustic charm and touch of life of folk kilns.
The brown-glazed horseman features bright glaze and vivid expression. The man on the saddle wears a futou headgear and holds the reins. His face naturally matches the horse's ears, possessing a harmonious and delightful charm. The red-green painted horsewoman is rendered with red, green, and black pigments. Her upright riding posture and graceful facial characteristics evoke the poised elegance of women during the Song and Jin periods. The brown-glazed horse shows a balanced glaze, full contours, a naturally hanging tail, and a steady, dignified stance. The white-glazed black-tinted horse is coated entirely in lustrous white glaze, with black pigment on its eyes, giving it a meek expression. Modeled in an accurate and expressive manner, the celadon-glazed horse has a fine clay body and smooth glaze. Its mane is long and neatly arranged, and its ornaments clearly rendered. The hollow interior suggests it was made by piece molds.
Horses played an important role in ancient Chinese society and were deeply cherished, making them a popular subject in ceramic art. These pieces not only reflect the ingenuity of their makers but also allow the image of the horse to be passed down through art from generation to generation.
