China, Tang Dynasty, 618-906

Horse, mid 8th century

As early as the Han dynasty (207 BCE-220 CE), representations of Central Asian horses made in pottery and bronze were considered essential in the tomb furnishings of high officials. In the Tang dynasty, numerous pottery horses of exceptional sculptural quality were consigned to tombs of the wealthy, attesting to the continuing importance attached to the fine breeds imported from Central Asia specifically, the kingdom of Ferghana. There was a new wave of enthusiasm for horses, at least in the region of the capital, Ch'ang-an, at the end of the 7th century. The more natural modeling and the posture of the horses reflect a general change from preceding dynastic traditions. Equestrian portraiture was in great demand during this period, both in sculpture and in painting, but it is likely that the sculptor took the initiative in establishing the new ideal. It is only in the classical phase (after 700) that saddling is represented in detail, and the folding and flow of the saddle blanket are added to suggest movement, the quintessential characteristic of Tang realism. Perhaps in keeping with the Northern Wei tradition, Tang ceramic sculptors tended to adopt some distortions of the natural form: the length of the neck was exaggerated and the proportion of the head reduced; the legs were lengthened; and the scale from mane to crupper increased. A more novel modification on the part of the sculptor was the adjustment to the horse's stance by bringing its rear hooves nearer to its forelegs to create a more compact, volumetric, and lifelike representation.

Korea, Three Kingdoms Period, Kaya Federation, 42-562

Stem Cup [Kobae], 5th to mid-6th century

While owing a debt for its social organization and cultural evolution to its powerful neighbor, China, Korea developed a unique society and art forms that blended Chinese cultural influence with Korean tastes. In turn, the Koreans made significant contributions to Japan, their neighbor to the south, through immigration. From very early times, Korean ceramics were distinctive, much admired, and apparently imported in large numbers by the Japanese. Korean potters were actively encouraged, either forcibly through raids or peacefully through trade, to settle in Japan and establish kilns there. This would explain why many early Japanese ceramics of the late Kofun era (6th century) are stylistically similar to those from the Korean peninsula. Stem Cups (kobae) were made for burial in 5th and 6th century Korean tombs. Their tall perforated feet and precise smoothing of the body are typical of the care exercised by the Koreans on their ceramics. A group of these stem cups were excavated from a tomb at Sungsan-dong, near Koryong, were they were stacked to accompany the occupant to the underworld.

Japan, Edo Period, 1615-1868

Landscape with Waterfowl, second half of the
16th century

India, West Bengal

Surya, the Sun God, 10th-11th century