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Horse

A work made of earthenware.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of earthenware.

Date:

5th–6th century

Artist:

Japan

About this artwork

This haniwa is a representation of a fully decorated horse, complete with saddle, stirrups, and bell ornaments on its front and back. The strap at the front has an incised chevron pattern, and the metal ring (suwari kanagu) used to gather up the leather straps at the back of a horse can be clearly seen. Excavated in Ibaragi prefecture, northeast of Tokyo, such a horse would have likely been at the front of a burial mound, in an area filled with a variety of figurines, as well as animal forms, perhaps meant to represent the possessions the deceased hoped to take with him after death. Horse breeds from the Asian continent proved to be effective militarily and quickly became symbols of wealth and power. Horses have also long been considered divine beings with special spiritual abilities.

Status

On View, Gallery 102

Department

Arts of Asia

Title

Horse

Place

Japan (Object made in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

401 CE–500 CE

Medium

Earthenware

Dimensions

79 × 84.5 × 28.5 cm (31 1/8 × 33 1/4 × 11 1/4 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Robert Allerton

Reference Number

1957.248

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/86366/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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