A Pair of Painted Pottery Horses

Han Dynasty, China, 206 BCE–220 CEA Pair of finely painted terracotta horses created as mingqi funerary objects for an elite tomb during the Han Dynasty. These sculptures display the elegant proportions and graceful curves more often associated with Tang burial sculpture. They once had wooden legs, which have rotted away over the centuries. Substantial original pigment remains visible across the surfaces, emphasizing details such as saddles, bridles, and decorative harnesses. Figures of this type were intended to accompany and serve the deceased in the afterlife while symbolizing prestige, mobility, and power. The horse itself was a particularly powerful symbol for burials because it represented mobility as well as power. Horses were also thought to possess certain moral qualities, such as virtue and fidelity.