figure; 畫像(Chinese) BM-1928-1022.117

Period:Tang dynasty Production date:8thC(mid)
Materials:clay, wood, silk, straw, 粘土 (Chinese), 木 (Chinese), 絲綢 (Chinese), 稻草 (Chinese),
Technique:painted, hand-modelled,
Subjects:horse/ass 哺乳動物 (Chinese)
Dimensions:Height: 60.50 centimetres Length: 79 centimetres

Description:
Fragmentary figure of a horse modelled in clay on a core of straw and wood and painted brown with white patches on the sides of the neck and quarters and black spots over all (the tail and the rear legs are missing). The saddle is decorated with palmette and rosette motifs, and has two strips of white silk hanging on the sides, which were probably originally holding the stirrups.
IMG


Comments:EnglishFrom Whitfield 1985:The tombs in the cemetery at Astana share in a modest way the principal features of the great eighth-century Tang tombs near Chang’an. Ast iii was a group of ten tombs within a rectangular enclosure, all with their entrances to the south-west. Tomb iii. 2, from which this noble figure of a horse was recovered, had two small antechambers, the inner one with rounded niches for clay figures (Innermost Asia, Vol. Ⅲ, Pl. 33). Two saddled horses and a camel were found in the eastern niche, and a number of smaller horses with riders in the other: none of these are in the British Museum collection, but a detached pair of legs from a rider in scale-armour are shown in Fig. 121 and show how these were elaborately attired (cf. the complete figure of horse and rider in Xinjiang chutu wenwu, Pl. 123). In addition, the tomb contained splendid guardian figures of earth spirits (ibid., Fig. 325), and the body itself was wrapped in figured or painted silk. A coin of the Kaiyuan period (A.D. 713-42) was found in the approach corridor, but further evidence of the eighth-century date of the whole group was provided by documents, cut up and re-used as funeral garments, which were recovered from some of the tombs. The documents, from tombs Ast. iii. 3 and 4, were thoroughly investigated by Henri Maspero, and published posthumously (Les documents chinois de la troisieme expedition de Sir Aurel Stein en Asie Cenirale, London, 1953), although he was able to communicate his early findings to Stein in time for the publication of Innermost Asia. Several of them proved to be portions of registers of horses in the postal and administrative service, recording in detail the age, colour, sex, marks, scars and general condition of each horse; others recorded official enquiries that took place whenever a horse died en route. A number of the documents contain dates, ranging from A.D. 669 to A.D. 722. From these Maspero was able to reconstruct the whole organization of Communications in the area, the day-to-day accounting for provisions, and the prescribed penalties for injuries to the animals arising from neglect or overloading (cf. Maspero, 1953, pp. 82-92). Gaochang, the walled city close by which is the ancient cemetery of Astana, was a vital centre of communications after this point since the road from Chang’an divided at Yarkhoto (Jiaocheng) to run north to Ting and south-west to Karashahr. When the Tang conquered the Gaochang kingdom in A.D. 640m, the headquarters was first established at Yarkhoto, but when control was reestablished in 657 after Turkish reprisals in 651, Yarkhoto had been destroyed, and Kucha became the seat of the Protector-General as it had been in the Han dynasty. At Gaochang, the brother of the last Gaochang king was appointed Governor-General of Xizhou (the Western District), and Gaochang remained the centre of administration until its destruction by the Tibetans in A.D. 791. Many of the horses in the registers are described as having a bay coat, some with spotted markings. Here, in addition to the markings on the haunches, neck and forequarters, there are petal-shaped pieces of silk attached to the body of the horse. The saddle blanket is represented as magnificently embroidered, and there are even remnants of silk from which hung the stirrups. A pair of stirrups, large open loops with a projection at the top pierced to receive the stirrup leather, were found separately and probably came from this horse or its companion, now in New Delhi. Like all of the figures in the tomb, the wooden legs were prolonged so that they could be fixed in the floor of the niche. This would have been necessary as the solid construction of the figure makes it very heavy. With its small head set on a powerful tapering neck, it is a fine representation of the horses imported by the Chinese since the Han dynasty. ChineseFrom Whitfield 1985:阿斯塔那古墓與長安近郊同時代（8世紀，唐代）的墓相比，要素樸簡單的多。阿斯塔那第iii區是由長方形的10個古墓組成，入口均朝西南邊。發現此精美馬俑的第iii區2號墓裏有兩個小前室，在每個內部圓形的龕裏都裝著俑（參照《亞洲腹地》，卷3，圖33）。東側的龕裏有兩個韝鞍的馬俑和一個駱駝俑，西側的龕裏還發現了很多略小一點的馬俑和騎士。它們都未收藏在大英博物館，有一對穿鎧甲的騎馬人物的腿，作爲服裝的參考資料展現於Fig. 121（有關穿鎧甲的騎士像的完整形象，參照《新疆出土文物》，圖123）。在此墓中還發現了身體用錦或彩繪絹包著的華麗鎮墓獸（參照上揭書Fig. 325）。從墓道中發現了開元（713～742年）通寶，而比這更能確證此墓群是8世紀建造的，是從若干墓中發現的文書類，它們是被斷開後再做成葬衣的。有關從阿斯塔那第iii區的3號及4號墓出土的文書，馬伯樂做過深入研究。早期的研究成果，趕上了《亞洲腹地》的出版，而全部整理刊行則在作者去世後(Les documents chinois de la troisieme expedition de Sir Aurel Stein en Asie Cenirale, London, 1953)。文書大多是有關郵差或官吏使用馬匹的登錄，記錄年齡、毛色、性別、特徵、傷迹等馬狀態的文書占大多數。如馬在途中猝死，記錄則公式化。相當數目的文書上都有紀年，其年代在669至722年間。通過這些記錄，馬伯樂重構了當地的通信組織、每日飼料用量，以及針對因爲不注意以及超載對動物造成傷害所下達的懲罰規定等（參照上揭書82～92頁）。連接阿斯塔那古墓的高昌故城是交通要地，從長安出發的道路通過這裏，到交河故城分成兩路，向北是庭州，向西南行則到焉耆，是極充滿活力的貿易中心，非常繁榮。640年唐朝征服高昌國時，最初曾把軍事機構設在交河故城。651年，由於突厥的報復，交河故城潰滅，其後657年再次納入唐朝的統治下。而且按漢代的制度，在庫車設置了西域都護府，任命最後一個高昌國王的弟弟爲西州都護，直到791年受吐蕃的破壞，高昌一直是作爲唐朝西域行政要地而存在。根據登錄簿，大多馬的毛色爲栗色，不過也記錄有斑點的馬。本圖馬俑的肩胛、脖子和胸部上都貼著用絹裁成的花瓣形。鞍韉上有刺繡般的華麗文樣，吊馬鐙用的絹的斷片也保留了下來。大概是與此馬俑等一同發現的一對馬鐙，穿革帶的突起部位，現在新德里國立博物館收藏。和其它俑相同，此馬的腿也是固定在龕內的板上，因此裏邊做了很長的木芯。為使俑像結實，因此有必要這樣處理。強有力的脖子是上邊細，安裝了小的頭部。這可以說是漢代之後，中國引進良馬的一個典型的說明。