THE BURIED ART OF ANCIENT XIANAnd other art of China

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TOMB TREASURES FROM CHINA
THE BURIED ART OF ANCIENT XIANAnd other art
of China
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Left standing figure from Guanghan Sanxingdui,
Shang Dynasty, Page 191.
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The bronze mirror above, ceramic deer to the
right and above, and the bronze tiger-tally to
the right are all examples of other items found
in tombs.
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Bronze objects of the Qin Dynasty were used for a
variety of purposes
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The Great Wall of China was built by the first
emperor of China, Shihuang-di, in 228 bce to
keep the barbarians out.
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Terra Cotta warriors from the mausoleum of the
first emperor of Qin, Shaanxi Province were
discovered in 1974 by a farmer plowing his
fields. The figures were buried beneath an
enormous mound long known as the tomb of the Qin
Shihuangdi.
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The army of Emperor Shihuangdi, Qin
Dynasty. Page 193
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Detail from text, Page 193.
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The tomb figures as they were unearthed
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The life-size figures from the tomb of Shihuangdi
were carefully and meticulously cleaned of 2000
years of burial earth.
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More than 10,000 figures, 600 horses, 100
chariots and numerous bronze weapons have been
found at the site which covers 215,000 square
feet. The General, to the left, and the Officer,
to the right, are both from the Qin Dynasty, c.
221-206 bce. All the figures are life-size and
show carefully individualized traits in their
modeling and painting.
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The Standing and Kneeling Archers, unearthed from
the tomb in 1977, show variations in their
clothes, faces and hair. These and other animated
archer figures show the development of combative
archery at that time.
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To the left is a bronze winged figure from the
Han Dynasty, c. 206 bce-220 ce. Feathered men
often appear in the art of the Eastern Han who
believed that immortals -- those who had won
freedom from death -- lived in the clouds and
flew about with wings. To the right is a
polychrome painted bronze lantern in the shape of
a goose. Both objects are Han Dynasty tomb
artifacts.
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These soldiers from the Han Dynasty are
earthenware with painted polychrome decoration.
All are from a Han tomb unearthed in Xianyang in
1965.
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Han Dynasty ceramic objects included painted
jars, horses and dragons.
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The mounted cavalrymen above are from the Western
Han Dynasty, c. 206 bce-9 ce, and are earthenware
with polychrome decoration. Horse breeding had
become extremely important in the Han and later
Tang Dynasties and representations of horses are
found in the tombs of both dynasties.
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L to R Earthenware pig, Western Han
Watchtower, Han and bronze bull, Eastern Han.
Images of earthly existence, from farm animals to
buildings, were made to be placed in the tombs.
Tomb models of buildings are the only examples
left of Han era architecture.
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The carved jade bear and winged horse above were
found in the same Western Han Dynasty tomb in
1975. The earthenware dog, left, is a funerary
object from the Wei Dynasty, late 6th Century.
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Above and right earthenware tomb guardian and
barbarian soldier are from the Western Wei
Dynasty, c. 535-557. The honorguard figure to
the far right is from the Northern Wei.
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Earthenware camel from the Western Wei.
The presence of foreign trade across the Silk
Road can be seen in the style of the camel here
and in the barbarian in the previous slide.
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Sakyamuni Buddha, c. 338. Gilded bronze. Page
197. Buddhism comes into China via the Silk Road.
The first images of the Buddha in China resemble
the Indian images.
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Vairocana Buddha, Longmen Caves, Luoyang, China.
Tang Dynasty, c. 670-680. Page 201.
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Details from the Vairocana Buddha
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Buddhist cave sculpture at Lonzhao
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Gilt silver octagonal cup and flask are both from
the Tang Dynasty, c. 618-906. The cup shows
musicians and dancers, and the flask, a dancing
horse. In 1970, more than 1,000 objects, many in
gold, silver and precious gems, were excavated
from Hejia, on the southern edge of Xian.
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These Heavenly King Tomb Guardian (Tianwang)
figures are earthenware with painted polychrome
decoration from the Tang Dynasty. More than 130
burial objects were unearthed in 1972 from the
tomb of Li Zhen, prince of Yue.
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This extraordinary gold bowl, with a design of
Mandarin ducks and lotus petals, was created by
artists whose achievements in gold and silver
production peaked during peaceful and prosperous
the Tang Dynasty.
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The Tang Dynasty white earthenware dancing
horse was unearthed in 1972 and the standing
ladies, earthenware with pink pigments,
unearthed in 1985.
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Two ladies of the Tang Dynasty display different
traditional hairstyles, clothing and ceramic
glazes.
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Detail, The Thirteen Emperors, Tang Dynasty, c.
650. Atrributed to Yan Liben. Page 204.
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Detail, from The Thirteen Emperors
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Tang Dynasty above, hunter with a dog on
horseback right, foreigner on horseback.
Figures with sancai (three color) glazes typify
Tang funerary ceramics.
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Traditional green and brown glazes of the Tang
were allowed to drip down the ceramic
pieces. Right, Tang Neighing Horse, Page 205.
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The Tang camelas ubiquitous as the horse...
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The figure of a dancing black man(left) and
female dancer with double loops of hair (right)
were unearthed from a tomb in Changwu in 1985.
Acceptance of various ethnic groups and foreign
cultures is evidence in the art of the tombs from
the Tang capital (Changwu).
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Buddhist motifs, seen in the elephant jar
carrying a stupa reflect the influence of
foreign religion in Chinese funerary objects.
Objects like the bronze ewer, right, attest to
the prosperity of Tang Buddhism.
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The Song Dynasty, 960-1279 ce, emerged after the
fall of the Tang. The Southern Song produced a
ceramic known as Guan Ware which became highly
prized for its return to a quiet beauty after the
exuberant Tang.
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Celadon vase and teapot from the Koryo period,
Korea.
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Maebyong vase, Koryo period, c. 918-1000. Celadon
with inlaid decoration.
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Thank you, China, for all the beauty