DAN'S PAPERS, August 22, 2008 Page 105 www.danshamptons.com
House/ home It’s Your Tang: Tips on Ancient Chinese Treasures By Mary Beth Karoll Among other ancient civilizations, the Chinese might beg to differ with the old adage, “You can’t take it with you.” During the prosperous Tang dynasty (618 – 907 A.D.), the elite furnished their graves to insure a most comfortable afterlife with little alteration in lavish earthly lifestyle and activities. In the hereafter, you could exist in heavenly bliss, bedecked with precious jewels and entertained by troops of dancing girls. Worldly amenities buried along with the dead included a retinue of clay models of servants, animals, and guardian earth spirits.
Chief among these sculptures are the famous Tang Horses, magnificent examples of the era’s splendor. Ranging from the miniature to the massive, these mortuary objects served as status symbols, the bigger the better. Nowadays, it’s not exactly true, despite rumors, that each high-style interior spread in every issue of Architectural Digest contains at least one Tang Horse. Still, a Tang Horse remains a highly coveted decorative item, with the rarest, most distinctive ceramics highly sought-after by collectors.
immortals.” As the Tang Dynasty was truly the golden age of the horse, the artisans’ love of the animal can be seen in the lowliest to the finest Tang Horses. Heads held high or turned, mouths open, nostrils flaring, prancing or standing still, the variety of stances is as wide as the attitudes and individuality of live horses. While quite stylized, the best Tang Horses display animation, and the musculature is typical of animals bred at the time. In their noble bearing, Tang Horses are truly symbols of power and prestige, and the finest capture the spirit of the period. Fashioned in standardized molds, Tang Horses were actually mass-produced but exceptionally high-quality. Details such as intricately styled manes and decorations on the saddles were added by hand. Elaborate trappings including saddles, saddle pads, bridles, stirrups and other ornaments reflect how horses were outfitted in that era, while the status of the deceased can be inferred from the type and degree of adornment. Although sometimes left entirely unglazed, the classic Tang Horse often displays the innovative Sancai glaze or three-color lead glaze in a brilliant palette of amber, green and straw. Touches of blue and turquoise add to the value of a tri-color piece. Typically, these fluid, vibrant glazes were allowed to run during firing, and sometimes small parts of the figure remain unglazed. Some of these ceramics were more subtly colored, perhaps in cream with a few amber-brown markings. Unusual coloration such as strawberry roan or darker tones such as chocolate brown and black, add value. Tang pottery artifacts were also left unglazed and then painted. If you make a major purchase of a pricy Tang
Horse, look for one that comes with a certificate of authenticity or an Oxford certificate. This means that a thermoluminescence test has been done with tiny samples taken from the piece. The results will show when the ceramic was last fired in a kiln and thus certify its date. However, if a genuine antiquity is not in your budget, you might be very pleased with a reproduction Tang Horse, as many are quite well made. Cobalt blue is a very desirable color and is among the glazes perfected by the talented potters of the Tang Dynasty. As actual examples are hard to find, perhaps a truly lovely, feisty and charismatic bright blue Tang Horse available from Amazon.com might suffice until your decorator sources an original!
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The Tang Dynasty had a strong equestrian tradition. Like today’s Hamptons horsy set, the Tang enjoyed dressage and polo, a sport played by both men and the liberated women of that era. Hunting and battle were other activities performed on horseback, and the horse in its military role was necessary for the expansion of the Chinese Empire. Viewed as spirit guides by the Chinese, horses had pride of place in the tombs of government officials, rulers, and nobility. Associated in tradition as a descendant of dragons, horses were seen as supernatural creatures that could carry a rider to the “home of the
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