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collection connection
Collection Connection
Horse Sense
Jean Graves, Assistant Curator for Docent and School Services
create images of horses throughout
the nation’s history. As China
developed from scattered states
controlled by warlords to a single farreaching empire, depictions of horses
reflected changes in Chinese society.
A lively earthenware horse from the
collection of Nancy and Ed Rosenthal
was made during the Northern Wei
dynasty (386–534 CE). It was a
burial offering, probably representing
something the deceased was intended
to have in the afterlife. At this time, the
north of China was under the control
of the Tabgatch, an ethnic group
descended from nomadic tribesmen,
so the local culture valued horses fit
for war.
Caparisoned Horse, Northern Wei dynasty (386–534 CE), about first third of the 6th century, painted earthenware.
Collection of Nancy and Ed Rosenthal. Photo by Tony Walsh
If it’s fair to make any broad
statements about a nation as old and
vast as China, we can say it was (even
until very recently) fundamentally
agrarian. “Typical” Chinese people
were farmers who valued oxen to pull
their plows. A second truism about
China is that it has been vulnerable
to invasion—hence the Great Wall.
Besides oxen, the Chinese needed
ponies for use in battle. Being faster
and more maneuverable, they
became a key element of China’s
national defense.
However, Chinese generals found
themselves forced to import war
ponies from their enemies, the
Mongols. The Mongols were willing
to trade their ponies but only handed
over geldings, making a Chinese
breeding program impossible. Later,
the Chinese were able to develop
stocks of ponies and horses but
only at great cost and effort. Horses
retained their aura of luxury for the
Chinese and became status symbols
in addition to their role in warfare.
Chinese artists were called on to
The most noticeable features of the
Rosenthals’ horse are its arching neck
and fine, bowed head, implying both
energy and obedience. It is outfitted
for parade, its breast strap bedecked
with shells and saddle covered with
fringed and knotted fabric. Traces
of pigment indicate that the bridle
and crupper (straps extending from
saddle to tail) were painted a festive
vermillion.
Metal stirrups, generally agreed
to be a Chinese innovation, were
coming into use at this time but
are not a visible part of this horse’s
equipage. Stirrups made it easier
to mount and especially to stay on
the horse, making it feasible for the
rider to shoot arrows and fight from
horseback. Oddly, the invention of the
stirrup seems not to have been much
remarked on by the Chinese at the
time or even today.
16
COLLECTION CONNECTION
however, so perhaps these pony water
droppers had a mostly symbolic and
decorative role, like the fancy pen set
on an American executive’s desk.
Pair of Water Droppers in the Shape of Ponies, China, Qing dynasty, Kangxi reign, about 1700, porcelain. Taft Museum of
Art. Photo by Tony Walsh
A pair of ponies from the collection of
the Taft Museum of Art demonstrates
an entirely different attitude. They
are products of the Qing dynasty
(1644–1911), made more than a
thousand years after the Rosenthals’
horse. We can appreciate the
differences immediately. The Northern
Wei horse is regal and forceful, while
these porcelain ponies are fat and
playful. They appear almost to smile
as they heave their heavy bodies up
from resting.
The Qing dynasty is noted for the
perfection of ceramic glazes, and
the ponies sport coats of yellow and
dark purple, enhancing the sense
of fun. They wear halters, so we
know they are not wild; but without
saddles or other evidence of job
assignments, they seem to be enjoying
a long break or retirement. Perhaps
this is appropriate, as they were
produced when advances in weapons
technology were making the use of
animals in warfare obsolete.
Qing dynasty rulers relied on a vast
corps of scholar-officials to manage
the country. Like the Northern Wei, the
Qing rulers were descended from a
horseback-riding people that invaded
and dominated China. Even so, they
retained the Chinese bureaucratic
system of government that had been
developed centuries before they
arrived, and most of the officials
serving in it continued to be drawn
from the native Chinese population.
These men rose to prominence
because of their mastery of Confucian
literature. Literacy was much more
important than horsemanship for
those who wanted to rise in society.
If scholar-officials were the intended
audience for these water droppers,
it seems natural for them to prefer
gentle, well-fed ponies to fiery steeds.
Unlike the Northern Wei horse, which
was meant for burial, these Qing
ponies were intended to grace the
home of a living person. There is
some evidence that the ponies were
meant to be displayed on a scholar’s
desk. The black ink traditionally used
for Chinese calligraphy and painting
comes in the form of a block or
stick. It has to be mixed with water to
achieve the proper consistency. The
ponies are hollow vessels that can
be filled with water. Holding a pony
by the tail, the scholar could drip
water from an opening in the mouth.
It would be an awkward procedure,
During the Qing dynasty, Chinese
manufacturers did a brisk trade
with Europe, exporting tea, silk, and
porcelain. The Taft ponies and other
similar examples made their way to
Great Britain. The same characteristics
that might have made these ponies
appealing to a Chinese scholarofficial may have increased their
marketability in England as well. It
is hard to imagine the Wei dynasty
warhorse in an English country house
but easy to picture the pair of ponies
gracing an English lady’s mantel or
dressing table.
Now that all three have found their
way to American collections, we have
the opportunity to enjoy their history
and charm.
FURTHER READING
Cooke, Bill, ed. Imperial China: The
Art of the Horse in Chinese History.
Lexington, KY: Kentucky Horse Park,
2000
Dien, Albert. “The Stirrup and Its Effect
on Chinese Military History.” http://
www.silk-road.com/artl/stirrup.shtml
Harrist, Robert E., Jr. Power and Virtue:
The Horse in Chinese Art. New York:
China Institute, 1997
Sargent, William R. The Copeland
Collection: Chinese and Japanese
Ceramic Figures. Salem, MA: Peabody
Museum, 1991