2009 04 17 - BT - Objects that tell stories from another time
Objects that tell stories from another time
MADHVI SUBRAHMANIAN takes a look at some of the exquisite ceramic tomb sculptures of China's Tang Dynasty that are currently on show here
ONE can argue that there is an 'afterlife'. It certainly seems true for the ceramic tomb sculptures of the Tang Dynasty, China, that were buried with the nobility more than 2,000 years ago.
Coveted by collectors for centuries, many of these exquisite pieces have found their way into some of the leading museums and private collections around the world. Today, they tell us the story of their time.
A selection from a Singapore private collection - the Bryan Collection - is currently on display at the Alliance Francaise on Sarkies Road, in the show titled Afterlife of Tang Nobility: An insight to an important part of the Chinese culture during the 7th-9th centuries.
Symbolic sacrifice
The story of the tomb sculptures of the Tang Dynasty begins around 200 BC when the world was equally dominated by the Roman Empire in the West and the Qin and Han Dynasties in the East. Influenced by Confucius philosophy, a change in the burial customs took place around the time of the Qin Dynasty. It was no longer necessary to bury horses or wives alive in tombs with their aristocratic masters. It was decreed that a symbolic sacrifice would suffice. This is when the tradition of burying ceramic ware with the deceased was born.
By the 5th century, Europe had entered the dark ages and in China, the mighty Tang Dynasty was taking shape. From the 7th to the 9th century the Tang Dynasty was one of the world's foremost civilisations. Economic prowess and military strength of the dynasty brought centralised administration over a large geographical area and nearly 300 years of peace. This period also saw great technological advances and an opening up to new artistic influences.
It is known as the golden age of the Tang Dynasty. A sense of this era is evident in the show at the Alliance Francaise. At the entrance of the gallery stands the Tomb Guardian - a prominent Tang Dynasty hybrid creature with a human face that once guarded the tombs of the nobles. These fantastical creatures lead you into sections filled with more than 50 figures, animals and pottery.
The collection has an impressive grouping of ceramic horses and camels. For the Tang people these animals were indispensable and loyal companions as they conquered and traded along the Silk Route. As the curator, Chen Jiazi, says: 'On the Silk Road, the status of horses was second only to silk.' Their importance can be seen in the majestic ceramic funerary sculptures glazed in the typical Tang sancai style (tri-colour).
The sancai glaze was a major breakthrough in ceramic technology that brought colour and longevity to earthenware ceramics. The lead-based glazes - mainly yellow, brown and green - mingle on the ceramic ware and are synonymous with Tang Dynasty ceramics.
Social status of women
The female figures in the collection point towards a liberal and elevated social status of women during the prosperous period of the Tang Dynasty. Tang aristocratic women were not only fashionable but also strong and outgoing. They rode large horses and dressed in skin-baring clothes. The court ladies from the menial class, however, were the true torchbearers of Tang fashion. They excelled in cross-dressing, foreign costumes, and dramatic hair-buns.
A variety of other objects and figures in ceramics such as military officials, court jesters, bearded foreigners, ritual objects, and utilitarian vessels are part of the Bryan Collection. Were it not for the fact that people in the Tang Dynasty believed in the afterlife, and buried objects with their dead, we would not know as much about this period of history. Moreover, it is the small and big collectors over the ages that played a key role in giving these forms an 'afterlife'. The objects created to serve the dead centuries ago live on to tell stories from their time.
'Afterlife of Tang Nobility: An insight to an important part of the Chinese culture during the 7th-9th centuries' is on till May 8, 2009 at Alliance Francaise de Singapour, 1 Sarkies Road.
Tel: 6737-8422. Admission is free
Description of pictures
Two sculptures dating from the Tang Dynasty period - sancai-glazed pottery horse with saddle, 618-906 AD and sancai-glazed pottery figure of an earth spirit (tomb guardian), 618- 906 AD, which has a height of 34.5 cms (next)
MADHVI SUBRAHMANIAN takes a look at some of the exquisite ceramic tomb sculptures of China's Tang Dynasty that are currently on show here
ONE can argue that there is an 'afterlife'. It certainly seems true for the ceramic tomb sculptures of the Tang Dynasty, China, that were buried with the nobility more than 2,000 years ago.
Coveted by collectors for centuries, many of these exquisite pieces have found their way into some of the leading museums and private collections around the world. Today, they tell us the story of their time.
A selection from a Singapore private collection - the Bryan Collection - is currently on display at the Alliance Francaise on Sarkies Road, in the show titled Afterlife of Tang Nobility: An insight to an important part of the Chinese culture during the 7th-9th centuries.
Symbolic sacrifice
The story of the tomb sculptures of the Tang Dynasty begins around 200 BC when the world was equally dominated by the Roman Empire in the West and the Qin and Han Dynasties in the East. Influenced by Confucius philosophy, a change in the burial customs took place around the time of the Qin Dynasty. It was no longer necessary to bury horses or wives alive in tombs with their aristocratic masters. It was decreed that a symbolic sacrifice would suffice. This is when the tradition of burying ceramic ware with the deceased was born.
By the 5th century, Europe had entered the dark ages and in China, the mighty Tang Dynasty was taking shape. From the 7th to the 9th century the Tang Dynasty was one of the world's foremost civilisations. Economic prowess and military strength of the dynasty brought centralised administration over a large geographical area and nearly 300 years of peace. This period also saw great technological advances and an opening up to new artistic influences.
It is known as the golden age of the Tang Dynasty. A sense of this era is evident in the show at the Alliance Francaise. At the entrance of the gallery stands the Tomb Guardian - a prominent Tang Dynasty hybrid creature with a human face that once guarded the tombs of the nobles. These fantastical creatures lead you into sections filled with more than 50 figures, animals and pottery.
The collection has an impressive grouping of ceramic horses and camels. For the Tang people these animals were indispensable and loyal companions as they conquered and traded along the Silk Route. As the curator, Chen Jiazi, says: 'On the Silk Road, the status of horses was second only to silk.' Their importance can be seen in the majestic ceramic funerary sculptures glazed in the typical Tang sancai style (tri-colour).
The sancai glaze was a major breakthrough in ceramic technology that brought colour and longevity to earthenware ceramics. The lead-based glazes - mainly yellow, brown and green - mingle on the ceramic ware and are synonymous with Tang Dynasty ceramics.
Social status of women
The female figures in the collection point towards a liberal and elevated social status of women during the prosperous period of the Tang Dynasty. Tang aristocratic women were not only fashionable but also strong and outgoing. They rode large horses and dressed in skin-baring clothes. The court ladies from the menial class, however, were the true torchbearers of Tang fashion. They excelled in cross-dressing, foreign costumes, and dramatic hair-buns.
A variety of other objects and figures in ceramics such as military officials, court jesters, bearded foreigners, ritual objects, and utilitarian vessels are part of the Bryan Collection. Were it not for the fact that people in the Tang Dynasty believed in the afterlife, and buried objects with their dead, we would not know as much about this period of history. Moreover, it is the small and big collectors over the ages that played a key role in giving these forms an 'afterlife'. The objects created to serve the dead centuries ago live on to tell stories from their time.
'Afterlife of Tang Nobility: An insight to an important part of the Chinese culture during the 7th-9th centuries' is on till May 8, 2009 at Alliance Francaise de Singapour, 1 Sarkies Road.
Tel: 6737-8422. Admission is free
Description of pictures
Two sculptures dating from the Tang Dynasty period - sancai-glazed pottery horse with saddle, 618-906 AD and sancai-glazed pottery figure of an earth spirit (tomb guardian), 618- 906 AD, which has a height of 34.5 cms (next)
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