Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Two Equestrian Figures

These two equestrian figures are from the Tang dynasty. They are molded reddish earthenware, and interestingly they are cold-painted, I find this amazing that the paint is still visible and survived this long. On the left is a man and the right a women I believe the book said they are sport riding. I wonder what their story is, if they were friends, components, enemies? I appreciate the expression in their faces, she looks like she might be mad or agitated, while the male has a smirk like he just made her mad somehow. The detail in the horses, the riders clothing, and the good proportions shows us the naturalism used during the Tang period. I find the woman's hair interesting, I wonder why they chose to wear in on top of their head as apposed to a ponytail maybe? I thinks it's kind of funny how the riders' hands are positioned to hold the horses reins, but the reins are not there, I wonder if they could have broken off or if we are just supposed to make that connection, because I do understand what they are doing without them actually being there. Though their purpose was for tomb furnishings, I like them, I would put them in my house.

2 comments:

  1. It is most likely that the figures were holding reins at one time but they were made of leather or a fiber that would have decayed over time. It had to have been something that would have decomposed and that is why it is no longer visible for us. I agree with you that these figures would look nice on a bookshelf or windowsill.

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  2. I would love to have these figures. What I like most about these two are the facial expressions, because you can make up many different scenarios on how and why they are making those faces.

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