Clay Figures of Horses 315 



Whoever has observed Chinese riding will have witnessed such perform- 

 ances; and in this case the potter must be granted all credit for his 

 power of observation. There is another type of mounted soldier from 

 Shen-si, whose left hand appears as if seizing the bridles, while he is 

 pressing his right hand against his chest (Plate LXIX, Fig. 2). 



The figure on Plate LXX is curious in exhibiting a helmeted soldier 

 rising in the saddle in an upright position, in order to salute by lifting 

 his folded hands to the height of his face. The headstall of the horse is 

 decorated with floral ornaments, probably chased in metal. 



In the Ho-nan types, the horses prick up their ears ; their necks are 

 elegantly curved; the manes are either upright, or falling down to the 

 right side, and are carefully modelled. In all Ho-nan figures of riders 

 known to me, the stirrups are represented. 1 Fig. 1 of Plate LXIX 

 illustrates a female rider very well seated; the body of the clay is coated 

 with a yellowish-green glaze, and the mane of the animal is well treated; 

 but the form of the head is bad. In the figure on Plate LXXI the mane 

 of the steed is painted vermilion. The woman 2 wears male attire, a 

 girdled coat with triangular lapels (as in our man's clothing) , trousers, 

 and boots; she is sitting straight and with arms crossed, the short sleeves 

 rendering the hands visible. The saddle-cloth is painted with small 

 circles in black ink, and thus is presumably intended for a panther's 

 skin. The reins and crupper likewise are so decorated, and there are 

 a few black circles on the neck of the animal. The stirrups are repre- 

 sented. 



The horse illustrated on Plate LXXII is fairly well modelled. The 

 neck is painted red, and overstrewn with white spots. Headstall and 

 bridle are painted in black outlines, while the crupper is brought out in 

 relief. The muscles of the head, the nostrils, the jaws (agape), teeth, 

 and tongue are carefully modelled. The woman, almost Japanese in 

 expression, wears a flat cap, from which a long ribbon is floating down 

 her back. Her dress is painted a brown-red. Her right arm is hanging 

 down, her left hand is raised to seize the bridles. The saddle-cloth 

 seems to be a cotton quilt. 



1 As has already been shown by F. Hirth (Zeitschrift fur Ethnologie, 1890, 

 Verhandlungen, p. 209), stirrups were in vogue during the T'ang period; the people 

 availed themselves of iron stirrups, those of the dignitaries were made from the metal 

 alloy called t'ou-shi. 



2 Horseback-riding was a common exercise for women in the T'ang period. 

 Female equestrians were represented by pictorial art. Yang Kuei-fei was painted in 

 the act of mounting on horseback (Giles, Introduction to the History of Chinese 

 Pictorial Art, p. 50). In the Gallery of the Sung Emperors there was a picture by 

 Chang Suan, representing a Japanese woman on horseback (Siian ho hua p'u, Ch. 5, 

 p. 6). 



