Gr. 11 Ceramics, Unit 4, Sculpture

1. Unit 4: Sculpture

2. Lesson 1: Chinese Horse
Sculptures
● The horse has been important in Asian cultures
since it was domesticated around 3,000 B.C.
● Horses were believed to be powerful enough to
carry their riders to immortality.
● They were the inspiration behind many poems,
songs, paintings and sculptures.

3. Chinese Horse Sculptures
● During the Shang Dynasty (1600 – 1100 B.C.),
real horses and human charioteers were buried
alive in royal tombs, to serve the deceased in
the afterlife.
● During the Qin dynasty (221 – 206 B.C.), the
emperor was buried with thousands of life-
sized sculptures of soldiers and hundreds of
horse sculptures.

4. Chinese Horse Sculptures
● The Tang Dynasty (618 – 906 A.D.) was a time
of cultural greatness in China. The horse was
used in battle, hunting, and sport.
● Tang potters produced huge numbers of objects
for their owners' tombs, called mingqi.
● Mingqi included figures of humans and
animals, pots and bowls, and models of
houses.

5. Japanese Horse Sculptures
● In Japan, around the time of the Tang Dynasty
in China, artists were making large
earthenware figures that encircled their burial
mounds.
● These Japanese sculptures of horses, soldiers,
and other animals are called haniwa.

8. Lesson 2:
The Tomb of Qin Shihuangdi
● Like the ancient Egyptians, the ancient
Chinese filled their tombs with personal
possessions to improve the afterlife.
● The most elaborate collection of burial objects
ever found by archeologists is the tomb of
Emperor Qin Shihuangdi, who died in 210 B.C.

9. The Tomb of Qin Shihuangdi
● Emperor Qin Shihuangdi had unified
China roughly into the nation it is today.
● “Qin” (pronounced “chin”) is the
Western root of the name for China.
● Emperor Qin had an army of life-sized
terracotta soldiers created to guard his
tomb.

10. The Tomb of Qin Shihuangdi
● Qin's clay army includes more than 8,000 life-size warrior
figures with individualized features.
● There are warriors, archers, cavalrymen and foot soldiers,
as well as 130 chariots and 670 life-size horses.
● The figures were once brightly painted

11. The Tomb of Qin Shihuangdi
● The warrior figures vary in height according to their roles,
with the generals being the tallest. They also have different
uniforms and hairstyles according to their rank.
● Other non-military figures were also found, including
officials, acrobats, strongmen, and musicians.
● The terracotta army was discovered accidentally in 1974
by farmers.

12. The Tomb of Qin Shihuangdi
● The terracotta army figures were made by government
labourers and local craftsmen.
● They were built in parts. The head, arms, legs, and torsos
were created separately and then assembled.
● It is likely that face moulds were used, and then clay was
added to model individual features.
● Most of the figures originally held real weapons, like
spears, swords, and crossbows.

14. REFLECTION: UNIT 4
1) How did you come up with your sculpture
idea?
2) Were you successful in using the reductive
building technique? Explain.
3) What parts of your sculpture are successful?
Why?
4) What parts of your sculpture would you change
and how?