Funerary model
Category
Ceramics
Date
c. 400 AD - c. 900 AD
Materials
earthenware, pigment, wood
Measurements
21 cm (H), 26.5 cm (W), 8 cm (D), 7.5 cm (H)
Order this imageCollection
Polesden Lacey, Surrey
NT 1246901.1
Caption
These heads were originally part of figures of entire horses, which were intended as ‘spirit utensils’ (mingqi) to be placed in tombs, to staff and furnish the deceased’s household in the afterlife. They entered the international art market in the early 20th century, as railways were being built across China and numerous tombs were being discovered.
Summary
One of a pair of earthenware horse heads, Chinese, possibly 5th or 6th century or Tang dynasty (618–907). Moulded and painted, with black-painted wooden bases probably added in Britain in the early 20th century.
Provenance
Bequeathed to the National Trust by Dame Margaret Greville, DBE (1863-1942).