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Scientists Solve a 1,300-Year-Old Mystery
SciTechDaily ^ | September 27, 2022 | University Of Cincinnati

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 ...


TOPICS: History; Science; Travel
KEYWORDS: dancinghorses; godsgravesglyphs; pietrostrobbia; tangdynasty; terracotta
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To: Dr. Franklin

I’ve got three TANG jars I bought in 1968! A fourth might be from the TANG company.

Now if I could find some Ming to go with Tang.


21 posted on 09/27/2022 4:29:30 PM PDT by Ruy Dias de Bivar ( FR is on GAB! https://gab.com/groups/67851)
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Comment #22 Removed by Moderator

Don't Let FR Go Dark

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23 posted on 09/27/2022 4:30:53 PM PDT by DJ MacWoW (The Fed Gov is not one ring to rule them all)
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To: Dr. Franklin

For space flights.


24 posted on 09/27/2022 4:34:47 PM PDT by Robert DeLong
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To: DannyTN

It’s from too many covid tests


25 posted on 09/27/2022 4:35:05 PM PDT by Track9 (You are far too inquisitive not to be seduced…)
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To: neverevergiveup
Well, someone had to do it.
Might as well have been me...

/Sarc..

26 posted on 09/27/2022 4:35:09 PM PDT by GaltAdonis
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To: Brooklyn Attitude

Many of their conclusions are fairy tales. This is one of them. Real...ma


27 posted on 09/27/2022 4:36:01 PM PDT by Sacajaweau ( )
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To: SunkenCiv

They act like dancing horses were something out of this world.


28 posted on 09/27/2022 4:37:39 PM PDT by Sacajaweau ( )
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To: Honest Nigerian

I call it a lot of horse shit, if true.


29 posted on 09/27/2022 4:37:49 PM PDT by Robert DeLong
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To: Ruy Dias de Bivar
Now if I could find some Ming to go with Tang.

You rang?

30 posted on 09/27/2022 4:40:08 PM PDT by Billthedrill
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To: Sacajaweau

The weirdos that go to ‘my little pony’ conventions do too.


31 posted on 09/27/2022 4:40:28 PM PDT by Track9 (You are far too inquisitive not to be seduced…)
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To: SunkenCiv

and the other three???


32 posted on 09/27/2022 5:10:37 PM PDT by Chode (there is no fall back position, there's no rally point, there is no LZ... we're on our own. #FJB)
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To: Dr. Franklin

The Tang Dynasty is most famous for inventing instant breakfast drinks.

************

The drive to get to the moon was because Tang needed to return to its own kind before its expiration.


33 posted on 09/27/2022 5:18:20 PM PDT by Grimmy (equivocation is but the first step along the road to capitulation)
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To: SunkenCiv

One thing I do know - I have a much different definition of lifelike than they do.


34 posted on 09/27/2022 5:21:16 PM PDT by scott7278 (Those who beat their swords into plowshares usually end up plowing for those who kept their swords.)
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To: SunkenCiv

“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.”

This is one of those statements that make me think ‘are we just spending our lives on earth not knowing what to do and filling it up with wasteful things like this’?


35 posted on 09/27/2022 5:23:10 PM PDT by Beowulf9
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To: Dr. Franklin; SunkenCiv

They were brought the gift by ancient astronauts from another planet.


36 posted on 09/27/2022 5:24:36 PM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: SunkenCiv

Those are some weird-ass horse proportions.


37 posted on 09/27/2022 5:40:46 PM PDT by martin_fierro (< |:)~)
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To: Billthedrill

The humor on this thread is Merciless!


38 posted on 09/27/2022 5:42:33 PM PDT by TigersEye (The Democrat Party is criminal, unAmerican and illegitimate )
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To: SunkenCiv

Looking at the way the tail is represented, I’m kinda surprised the mane isn’t braided too.

Or, it’s an actual unicorn and they have weird tails.


39 posted on 09/27/2022 6:51:58 PM PDT by Grimmy (equivocation is but the first step along the road to capitulation)
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To: nickcarraway
Is such a thing even possible? Yes, it is.
Giorgio A. Tsoukalos

40 posted on 09/27/2022 7:15:10 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie.)
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