{"secondaryobjectnumber":null,"periodterms":[{"id":2033398,"period":"Eastern Han"}],"creditline":"Museum purchase, John Maclean Magie, Class of 1892, and Gertrude Magie Fund","caption":"Chinese, Eastern Han dynasty (25–220 CE), Massive horse. Red earthenware with green glaze; 139.7 x 119 x 34 cm. Museum purchase, John Maclean Magie, Class of 1892, and Gertrude Magie Fund (1997-32)","cultureterms":[{"id":2033355,"culture":"Chinese"}],"type":"artobject","dimensionsproposed":"","terms":[{"id":2054791,"term":"sculpture","aatid":300047090,"termtype":"Classification"},{"id":2055431,"term":"equestrian statues","aatid":300047606,"termtype":"Classification"},{"id":2058601,"term":"green (color)","aatid":300128438,"termtype":"Subject"},{"id":2103918,"term":"horses","aatid":null,"termtype":"Subject"},{"id":2033355,"term":"Chinese","aatid":300018322,"termtype":"Culture"},{"id":2033398,"term":"Eastern Han","aatid":300018386,"termtype":"Period / Style"},{"id":2049225,"term":"earthenware","aatid":300140803,"termtype":"Classification"},{"id":2168031,"term":"glaze","aatid":300015091,"termtype":"Materials"},{"id":2049225,"term":"earthenware","aatid":300140803,"termtype":"Materials"}],"geography":[{"displaygeography":"Place made: Asia, China","code":"Place made","continent":"Asia","subcontinent":null,"country":"China","region":null,"state":null,"city":null,"county":null,"subregion":null,"locale":null,"locus":null,"river":null,"excavation":null,"geoname":"http://www.geonames.org/1814991/people-s-republic-of-china.html","location":{"lat":"","lon":""}}],"dimensionelements":[{"element":"Overall","type":"Height","units":"centimeters","dimension":"139.70"},{"element":"Overall","type":"Length","units":"centimeters","dimension":"119.00"},{"element":"Overall","type":"Width","units":"centimeters","dimension":"34.00"}],"markings":null,"accessionyear":"1997-01-01","newaccession":0,"makers":[],"datecomputed":122,"signed":null,"restrictions":null,"classification":"Sculpture","packages":[{"packageid":211429,"name":"PUAM_Asian"},{"packageid":278831,"name":"10282025-DAY1-ONVIEW"},{"packageid":197269,"name":"web_highlights -revised 2021"},{"packageid":214208,"name":"Gallery_13-15(Pavilion4)-Asian"},{"packageid":267343,"name":"Web_CA_2025_Asian"},{"packageid":181967,"name":"web_2020_Asian"}],"catalograisonne":null,"classifications":[{"id":2049225,"classification":"earthenware"},{"id":2054791,"classification":"sculpture"},{"id":2055431,"classification":"equestrian statues"}],"exhibitions":[],"cultures":[{"id":13592,"culture":"Chinese","alphasort":"Chinese","begindate":0,"enddate":0,"displayculture":"Chinese","displaydate":null}],"primaryimage":["https://media.artmuseum.princeton.edu/iiif/3/collection/1997-32_e"],"displaytitle":"Massive horse","displayculture":"Chinese","displaymaker":null,"captionhtml":"Chinese, Eastern Han dynasty (25–220 CE), <i>Massive horse</i>. Red earthenware with green glaze; 139.7 x 119 x 34 cm. Museum purchase, John Maclean Magie, Class of 1892, and Gertrude Magie Fund (1997-32)","displaydate":null,"medium":"Red earthenware with green glaze","media":[{"id":39974,"uri":"https://media.artmuseum.princeton.edu/iiif/3/collection/1997-32_e","isprimary":1,"rank":1,"mediatypeid":1,"mediaviewtype":"(not assigned)","restrictions":null,"caption":"Bruce White Photography"},{"id":1438,"uri":"https://media.artmuseum.princeton.edu/iiif/3/collection/1997-32","isprimary":0,"rank":2,"mediatypeid":1,"mediaviewtype":"(not assigned)","restrictions":null,"caption":"Luna Digitization Project"},{"id":9252,"uri":"https://media.artmuseum.princeton.edu/iiif/3/collection/1997-32_DET","isprimary":0,"rank":2,"mediatypeid":1,"mediaviewtype":"(not assigned)","restrictions":null,"caption":"Luna Digitization Project"}],"displayperiod":"Eastern Han dynasty, 25–220 CE","extended_content":false,"campuscollections":"false","bibliography":[{"boilertext":"<i>Princeton University Art Museum: Handbook of the Collections </i>(Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Art Museum, 2013)","citation":"<i>Princeton University Art Museum: Handbook of the Collections </i>(Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Art Museum, 2013)","date":2013,"id":1994,"uri":"https://search.worldcat.org/title/865020505"},{"boilertext":"Cary Y. Liu, et al. <em>Recarving China's Past: Art, Archaeology and Architecture of the \"Wu Family Shrines\"</em>, (Princeton University Art Museum, 2005)","citation":"Cary Y. Liu, et al. <em>Recarving China's Past: Art, Archaeology and Architecture of the \"Wu Family Shrines\"</em>, (Princeton University Art Museum, 2005), p. 424–27","date":2005,"id":8331,"uri":"https://search.worldcat.org/title/254152310"},{"boilertext":"\"Acquisitions of the Art Museum 1997,\" in \"A Window into Collecting American Folk Art: The Edward Duff Balken Collection at Princeton,\" special issue, <em>Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University</em> 57, no. 1/2 (1998): p. 164-208.","citation":"\"Acquisitions of the Art Museum 1997,\" in \"A Window into Collecting American Folk Art: The Edward Duff Balken Collection at Princeton,\" special issue, <em>Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University</em> 57, no. 1/2 (1998): p. 164-208., pp. 188–189 (illus.)","date":1998,"id":3048,"uri":"https://www.jstor.org/stable/3774775"},{"boilertext":"<i>Princeton University Art Museum: Handbook of the Collection</i> (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2007)","citation":"<i>Princeton University Art Museum: Handbook of the Collection</i> (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2007), 9 (illus.)","date":2007,"id":474,"uri":"https://search.worldcat.org/title/191864564"}],"nowebuse":"False","periods":[{"id":12609,"period":"Eastern Han dynasty","alphasort":"Eastern Han","begindate":25,"enddate":220,"displayperiod":"Eastern Han dynasty, 25–220 CE","displaydate":"25–220 CE"}],"department":"Asian Art","attribute_groups":[{"id":2199319,"term":"Asian Art","termtype":"Collecting Area"}],"daterange":"A.D. 1-500","dateend":220,"depicted":[],"titles":[{"title":"Massive horse","titletype":"Primary Title","displayorder":1}],"hasimage":"true","creditlinerepro":"","objectnumber":"1997-32","inscribed":null,"texts":[{"texttype":"Online","textpurpose":"Handbook Entry","textentryhtml":"The wide popularity of horses in Han dynasty art reflects their great impact on China’s history and mythology. The horse, admired for its strength and nobility, was also associated with martial prowess and supernatural qualities.\r\nMassive glazed-earthenware horses from the Han dynasty are rare, and this may be the largest known example. Of impressive proportions, the horse stands solidly foursquare. The upright mane is clipped short along the neck that curves up to a small, well-defined head with hollow pricked-up ears, bulging eyes, flared nostrils, and an open mouth revealing teeth and tongue. The bridle, set with circular bosses and a raised, knotted tail that originally may have been adorned with hair, makes this horse similar in style to Eastern Han examples excavated in Sichuan province. Carefully restored, the head is essentially intact except for reattached ears and the front tip of the mane. The front legs, at some point repaired and reattached, now splay slightly outward, creating an awkward stance. Most Han examples have a more vertical stance or lean forward as if ready to break into a gallop. Wood armatures inside the legs lend structural support to this marvel of early ceramic technology. Large-scale horses in the Sichuan region are often found in tomb chambers without any military association, usually accompanied by a host of other burial figures, generally produced on a smaller scale. A horse of this prominent size probably reflected prestige, conferred status, and perhaps was intended as a mount for the afterlife journey. </P></SPAN>","remarks":null},{"texttype":"Online","textpurpose":"Provenance","textentryhtml":"&nbsp;–&nbsp;Jingguantang Collection (Hong Kong).<br>&nbsp;–1997&nbsp;Christie’s auction (New York, NY), sold to Eskenazi Gallery (London, UK), March 20, 1997.<br>1997–1997&nbsp;Eskenazi Gallery (London, UK), sold to the Princeton University Art Museum. <br>","remarks":null},{"texttype":"Online","textpurpose":"Gallery Label","textentryhtml":"This imposing earthenware horse is among the largest examples of its kind found to date. The horse’s prominence in Han art reflects its overwhelming cultural importance. Since their introduction from the Eurasian Steppe during the Shang dynasty, horses were used to drive chariots, the prestige vehicle of ancient China. By the Han dynasty, their use in light cavalry had become a central feature of warfare. This horse stands alert with ears pricked. Glaring eyes, flared nostrils, and gritted teeth further convey its tension. Its clipped mane runs the length of the enormous neck, which engulfs the animal’s withers. The upright, knotted tail, which may once have been adorned with horsehair, is similar to Eastern Han examples excavated in Sichuan province. The object has been restored from large fragments; the ears have been reattached and the front legs repaired. Wooden armatures inside the legs lend support to this marvel of early ceramic technology.\n","remarks":"ASIA1_15_WLA  Day 1 Cataloguing"}],"datebegin":25,"sortnumber":"1997   32","published_date":"2026-02-11 08:13:46.830731","objectid":8102,"dimensions":"h. 139.7 cm., l. 119.0 cm., w. 34.0 cm. (55 x 46 7/8 x 13 3/8 in.)","on_view":true}