Tang Dynasty- Ming Ch'i Horses

Ming Ch'i directly translated means "spirit objects" and they are burial ceramics that reached a pinnacle during the Tang Dynasty (618-906 AD). These burial objects ranged from figurines of people, animals, models of buildings and tools and replicas of objects that were originally made of valuable materials such as bronze. Ming Ch'i were not intended for everyday use and were only intended for burials to act as surrogates for human sacrifice to serve the dead in the afterlife. The size and number of Ming Ch'i were specified by edicts based on the deceased station in life; the higher rank you were, the more Ming Chi you acquired and vice versa.

Ming Ch'i were created from press molds, joined together then modeled for detail that were then glazed with brightly colored lead glazes to heighten their decorative qualities, but over time the colors have been work away or have fallen off as you can see in the image of the horse above. Horses were an extremely popular Ming Ch'i that could be as small as about 12 inches to quite large reaching around forty inches high. They combine elements of naturalism with stylization to give it great expression and personality thus making Tang horses to be among the glories of Chinese art.