Collections within My Collection: The Chinese Connection, Part 1

When the word "china" is mentioned in the hobby, the usual association made is Hagen Renaker and other model horse pieces made from the medium of china. But there is another, far more broader application of the word.

China. As in the country. 

Thanks to the generosity of friends, I am fortunate to have some horsey pieces in my collection that actually are from China. The next day or two I will share those as we take a look at that collection within my collection.

The Chinese Terra Cotta Horse

The story of Chinese Emperor Qin Shi Huang and his terra cotta army is fascinating. When he was buried, an army of 8,000 life-sized soldiers, horses, and more were made out of terra cotta and placed in his mausoleum to protect and guide him into the afterlife.

All the more incredible, the pieces were different from each other, with individualized faces and positions.

During the years we were at the University of Illinois, faculty member friends of ours went overseas and spent a year teaching English to Chinese students.

While there, they visited the site and brought home this replica of one of the horses as a gift for me.

I'm not quite sure what the piece is made out of - it may even be terra cotta.

That isn't a shadow making the one side look darker than the other; it really is.

And it isn't dusty, either. It's finished to look as though it is.

 

The base is very rough underneath and I have wondered if those are fingerprints that you can see.

As I compare the marks to my thumb, I think it is possible that they are.

The Chinese Terra Cotta horse is one of the more unusual items in my collection of horses and horsey items. And it was the first of several from China. After we came back home to Indiana and Purdue University, faculty members here also brought me some horsey things from China.

I'll share some more tomorrow.

Stay 'tooned!

Chinese Army Terra Cotta Horse

The story of Chinese Emperor Qin Shi Huang and his terra cotta army is fascinating. When he was buried, an army of 8,000 life-sized soldiers, horses, and more were made out of terra cotta and placed in his mausoleum to protect and guide him into the afterlife.

All the more incredible, the pieces were different from each other, with individualized faces and positions.

Friends of ours went overseas and spent a year teaching English to Chinese students.

While there, they visited the site and brought home this replica of one of the horses as a gift for me.

I'm not quite sure what the piece is made out of - it may even be terra cotta.

That isn't a shadow making the one side look darker than the other; it really is.

And it isn't dusty, either. It's finished to look as though it is.

 

The base is very rough underneath and I have wondered if those are fingerprints that you can see.

As I compare the marks to my thumb, I think it is possible that they are.

The Chinese Terra Cotta horse is one of the more unusual items in my collection of horses and horsey items. And it got me thinking - I have some other unusual models and horsey items. Why not do some blog posts about them?

Stay 'tooned to see some of them!