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The T’ang Dynasty was an era of unrivalled
wealth and luxury. The country was successfully
reunified and the borders were expanded,
pushing Chinese influence into new lands.
Confucianism became a semi-religious
instrument of the state; yet Buddhism continued
to flourish, spreading into Korea and Japan. The
arts reached new levels of sophistication. Poetry
and literature flourished under the enlightened
rulers. The Silk Road brought fortunes into
China. Precious treasures were imported on the
backs of camels from far away lands and
bartered for Chinese silk, medicinal herbs, and
pungent spices. T’ang China was a multicultural
empire where foreign merchants from across
Central Asia and the Middle East settled in the
urban centers, foremost among them the
thriving capital of Chang’an (modern X’ian), a
bustling cosmopolitan center of over two million
inhabitants. Foreign traders lived next to native
artisans and both thrived. New ideas and exotic
artistic forms followed alongside. The T’ang
Dynasty was a cultural renaissance where many
of the forms and objects we now associate with
China were first created. Moreover, this period
represents one of the greatest cultural
outpourings in human history.
Horses were among the most revered creatures
in ancient China. The speed and strength of
these majestic creatures was vital to the
protection and expansion of the Chinese empire.
While the local Mongol Pony was native to the
region, larger and faster breeds were imported
from Central Asia, eventually leading to the
establishment of the Silk Road. This sculpture of
a groom might just represent one of the
foreigners who imported or cared for such
horses. Dressed in an elegantly glazed green
coat featuring a turquoise lapel, this groom
features an expressive and emotive face that
reveals his foreign origins. While his mouth,
held slightly ajar, is painted red and his
distinctive hat is black, it is the turquoise lapel
that is most unique. The rarest of all the colored
glazes, turquoise is know to appear on a mere
half a dozen sculptures during the T’ang era,
this splendid example being one of them.
While this groom might have accompanied a
prized steed on the long and arduous journey
from Central Asia to its new owner inside China,
it is just as likely that this expert groom lived
and resided in China, tending to the needs of a
royal stable of stallions. During the T’ang
Dynasty, it was not uncommon for foreigners to
reside in the larger cosmopolitan centers of the
empire. Clearly, this groom is no meager
peasant, but a refined and respected foreigner
who was memorialized in this sculpture. He
holds his arms aloft in the air, as if reaching for
the reigns to lead a horse. We can easily picture
him lovingly combing a horse and brushing its
mane. This groom is no mere worker, but a
talented and respected artist who brought out
the full beauty of these revered creatures.
- (H.697)
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