Treasures from the Tang dynasty

Tang Dynasty Antiquities

Tang dynasty on display

In The Best of Both Worlds, antiquities including those from the Tang dynasty are on display. The exhibition at the Hong Kong of Museum of Art, show works donated by benefactors.

These treasures, art and ceramics dating from the Neolithic period to the early twentieth century show the broad range of items in the museum’s Chinese Antiquities collection and include some of the museum’s oldest objects.

Exhibition view, Tang Dynasty exhibition

This special exhibition features over 300 items. The most abundant and extensive category in the museum’s Chinese antiquities collection are ceramics.

Tang dynasty

The collection owes its breadth and scale to generous donors and private collectors, who shared their passion for Chinese ceramics by giving funds as well as donating works to the museum, thus providing some of the finest examples of these works for the public’s enjoyment.

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The evolution of Chinese ceramics chronicles the long history of Chinese culture and the rise and fall of dynasties.

Covered jar with four loops in celadon glaze Yue ware, Tang dynasty (618 – 907)

Fine examples dating from the Neolithic period, Zhou dynasty, Qin dynasty, Han dynasty, Sui dynasty, Tang dynasty through to the relatively modern era of the Yuan and Ming dynasty are on display.

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Much of what we know of the development of Chinese art and culture is based on ancient artefacts.

Insights into Tang dynasty

Most of these, particularly pottery and ceramic pieces, were found in ancient tombs and burial sites.

The artefacts unearthed from these graves give insights into the life and the society of ancient China.

Terracotta surrogate for real items

From Neolithic times, the burial of the deceased was ritualised and filled with pottery items, such as food vessels and personalised possessions, to accompany the passage of the departed into the next realm.

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In later times, as tombs increased in size and complexity, many aspects of everyday life were recreated specifically for burial.

Items buried with deceased

Funerary figurines made of terracotta became substitutes for actual human servants and slaves, who were previously sacrificed or buried alive alongside with their deceased owners.

Ewer with moulded design sancai glaze Tang dynasty (eighth century)

Along with figurines, all the paraphernalia needed for a comfortable life thereafter were placed in the tomb to follow the occupant onwards.

During the Han dynasty, burials and funerary figurines and tributes became more sophisticated.

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Objects that were reminders of a comfortable life here were placed in tombs so the deceased would be provided with the same in the afterlife.

Tang dynasty replicas

These included detailed replicas of domestic dwellings, servants, concubines and entertainers, as well as animals, pig sties, poultry pens, granaries, houses, watch towers, boats, furniture, bowls and cooking implements.

Tea bowl with bi-foot ring in celadon glaze, Yue ware, Tang dynasty (618 – 907)

Some tombs yielded substantial terracotta armies, with warriors, horses and chariots.

Funerary pottery reached its peak of technical brilliance in the middle of the Tang dynasty (618-907).

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The dynasty spanned three centuries and saw an enormously successful and continuous era of ceramics production.

Ewer with appliques splashed with brown in celadon glaze, Changsha ware, Tang dynasty (ninth century)

It is regarded as one of the most glorious eras in Chinese history, as it was a single unified empire for a considerable period.

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A dynasty renowned for its cultural brilliance, it was a time of territorial expansion and exchange of trade with foreign societies.

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Ewer painted with dragon amidst cloud design in green and brown on white ground, Changsha ware, Tang dynasty (618-907)

Following centuries of traditions, funeral rites were tremendously important, and such was the prominence of ceramics in the burial process, that the laws of the Tang record a special department set up to govern the manufacture, number and size of burial items for placement within a tomb.

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This dictate was determined by the grade of nobility of the deceased.

Only certain people above a specified rank or status would be allowed to take to the tomb pieces above a prescribed size.

Jar with two looped-handles decorated with brown splashes in celadon glaze, Tang dynasty (618-907)

A decree – a so-called sumptuary law – was designed specifically for the purpose of restraining luxury or extravagance and as an easy way to identify social rank and privilege.

The number of pottery and sculptures allowed in a burial site of a mandarin official was indicated and strictly regulated.

Ceramic Pots

For the highest, Third-grade officials and above, they could have a maximum of ninety pieces; Fourth-and Fifth grade officials – sixty pieces; and Sixth-and lower grade officials – forty pieces.

Sumptuary laws

The size and type of figurines for a burial included: four tomb guardians, a pair of spirit animals, camels, horses and men not to exceed one foot in height; dancers, musicians and attendants not to exceed seven inches in height; and figures representing slaves and servants not to exceed twenty in number and four inches in height.

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Imperial family burials could have several hundred items in their tombs, with large sized figures.

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Ample evidence from archaeological finds and Chinese state archives show that the sumptuary laws were strictly abided by in the first hundred years of the Tang period.

Tang Dynasty Ceramics

However, there is ample evidence that these laws were also frequently broken. By providing an excess of goods in the burial chamber, relatives believed it would improve the status of the deceased in the afterlife.

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The ceramics produced during this period reflected the prosperity of the times and the foreign trade that proliferated along the Silk road.

Pear-shaped jar in white glaze, Tang dynasty (618 – 907)

The influence of different societies and cultures fostered the development of innovative decorations, styles and techniques.

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During the Tang dynasty, a naturalistic and animated style of representation was emphasised significantly in the sculptural arts.

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In the models of horses and camels, there were real-life details that showed musculature and bone structure, and an attempt to show animals as one would see them in real life.

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The horses of the Tang were embellished with luxurious and fine ornaments, as it defined the status and wealth of its owner.

Equestrian figure in sancai glaze, Tang dynasty (618 – 907)

In the exhibition, the ceramic example of the equestrian figure in sancai glaze shows the horse in action, as the rider leans back to rein it in.

The camel was so important to China’s trade with the west that tomb sculptures of Bactrian camels became popular and important funerary objects during the Tang dynasty.

Standing camel in sancai glaze, Tang Dynasty (618-907)

The example of a sancai glazed two-humped Bactrian camel, standing with its head raised and mouth opened, is a fine representation of the beasts that were an essential part of the trade of goods along the Silk Road.

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Other tomb figurines included highly stylised women at court, such as the painted pottery female figure on display.

Painted pottery female figure, Tan dynasty (618-907)

Her moon shaped face, full cheeks, small lips and loose-fitting garments are features typical of the Tang’s concept of feminine beauty.

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They were often rendered with ample figures, with heads slightly tilted, elaborate hair styles, and hands clasped in front or frozen in action.

Painted pottery figure of a foreigner, Tang dynasty (618 – 907)

The painted pottery figure of a foreigner in the exhibit shows a man with Caucasian features, with a large nose and protruding brow.

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Other figures, such as the tomb guardian, show a half man and half beast creature whose primary purpose was to guard the entrance of the burial chamber and scare off intruders and robbers.

Tomb guardian in sancai glaze, Tang dynasty (618 – 907)

Many items that represented all aspects of a privileged life as well as magnificent large grandiose ceramics have been found in the tombs of deceased Tang emperors and nobles.

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The funerary items created for the deceased attest to the sophistication of the society at that time and their reverence for fine things to accompany the dead into the next world.

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These fine examples of Tang pottery and sculpture show that ceramic arts reached a zenith during this affluent period and were highly appreciated and abundantly produced.

Amphora in white glaze, Sui dynasty (581 – 618), Ceramics

Text & photos by Cammy Yiu

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