Dancing Horse, 608-907 CE, China, Tang Dynasty, earthenware with pigments, Cincinnati Art Museum, Gift of Carl and Eleanor Strauss, 1997.Credit: Cincinnati Art Museum
Posted on 09/27/2022 3:48:19 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
An art museum collaborates with expert chemists to investigate a Tang dynasty dancing horse.
In order to solve a 1,300-year-old mystery, the Cincinnati Art Museum requested help from a University of Cincinnati scientist.
The Chinese dancing horse sculpture at the museum is so lifelike that it seems to be ready to gallop off its pedestal. However, H ou-mei Sung, an expert in East Asian art, questioned the authenticity of a decorative tassel on the terracotta horse’s forehead that resembled the horn of a mythical unicorn.
Pietro Strobbia, an assistant professor of chemistry at the UC College of Arts and Sciences, was contacted by the museum to help establish if the tassel belonged to the original piece...
Strobbia and his collaborators recently published their findings in the journal Heritage Science.
Sung has seen numerous instances of ancient sculptures honoring the dancing horses that entertained rulers as far back as 202 B.C. But according to her, no others have forehead tassels. Could it have been added at a later time? ...
The dancing horse was donated by a collector to the Cincinnati museum in 1997 and originates from the Tang dynasty, when such sculptures were commissioned specifically for the aim of entombing royalty with them after their deaths, according to Sung.
Dancing horses were trained to move in time with a drumbeat. Sung said Emperor Xuanzong from the eighth century loved horses so much that he had a stable of more than 40,000. For one birthday celebration, he invited a troupe of 400 dancing horses to perform the "Song of the Upturned Cup."
(Excerpt) Read more at scitechdaily.com ...
Dancing Horse, 608-907 CE, China, Tang Dynasty, earthenware with pigments, Cincinnati Art Museum, Gift of Carl and Eleanor Strauss, 1997.Credit: Cincinnati Art Museum
Thanks Red Badger.
That’s probably not a horn, but a tuft of hair.
Sounds like their mane claim is in error. ;^)
The Tang Dynasty is most famous for inventing instant breakfast drinks.
I’m going for the unicorn-with-horns-on-its-butt theory. Three on each side is six - a hexacorn?
Scientists were being paid by the hour. Good money.
But since 1898 the slogan Remember the Mane has been in use.😇
Interesting story. I’d say Dr Strobbia has just found himself a lucrative new career.
Who knew ancient Chinese dancing horses had butt spikes.
What a tassel, er, I mean hassle.
My mother bought us that crap when we were kids. Awful
“Who knew ancient Chinese dancing horses had butt spikes.”
Might be handy warding off gropers in San Fagsicko......
“The Chinese dancing horse sculpture at the museum is so lifelike that it seems to be ready to gallop off its pedestal.”
I often take claims too literally but no freaking way that horse looks anywhere near lifelike.
Lol!
.
Wrong - Tang was invented in the USA.
.
"There's nothing like a celebrity endorsement to give your
brand that cool factor -- just ask the makers of Tang.
Astronauts drank it in space in the 1960s, and everyone
knew Astronauts were the coolest."
"Times were tough for Tang before NASA's astronauts gave it a
boost. The orange-flavored drink was invented in 1957,
and first sold in 1959 by General Foods. It wasn't a hot
seller -- after all, in America, land of abundance, did
we really need a replacement for good old orange juice?"
"Tang existed as a product for a few years before finding its
niche, in outer space. The first astronaut to bring Tang
into orbit was John Glenn, on a Mercury mission aboard
Friendship 7 in February 1962."
...
/Sarc
The assistant professor gave a withering argument.
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