Curriculum Materials: Amazing Animals in Art Image 4 Chinese (T'ang dynasty), About 725 Horse Theme Essays: Background About this Object Style and Technique About the Artist Questions: Suggested Questions: K-3 Suggested Questions: 4-6 Suggested Questions: Grades 4-6 - Teachers Key What kind of animal is this? Does this look like a real horse? Have you ever seen a horse that looks like this? What is NATURALISTIC about this horse? (Form of horse, accurate proportion, musculature, posture.) What is not naturalistic? (Color.) How would you describe this horse? (Gentle? Quiet? Playful? Lively? Wild? Energetic?) Is the horse showing any physical movement? Where? Would you want to ride this horse? Why or why not? Explain the significance of tomb figures and the belief in an afterlife. Why would someone want to bring a horse into the afterlife? Why do you think the horse was important to the Chinese people? (Mode of transportation; important to military defense; they rode horses for playing polo and hunting; symbol of prestige and wealth.) Can you tell what material was used to make this horse? Where did the artist find the material? Have you made anything out of clay? Do you think the horse was difficult to make? Why do you think so? The technique used to glaze this horse is called san t'sai, which means "three-color." What colors are used here? Cobalt blue glaze was very rare and expensive and had to be imported into China. Why might an artist use cobalt glaze on a horse like this? (To make a beautiful and prestigious object.) What other object in this unit may have been made to include in a tomb? (Nazca vessel.) Both used ceramics for works of art. Which culture do you think was more advanced in its ceramic techniques? Why? Introduction ~ Index of Images ~ Glossary ~ Amazing Animals Activities ~ How to Order ~ Your Comments Wanted