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Haniwa Horse

馬形埴輪)

400s–500s CE
(c. 300–538 CE)
earthenware with traces of pigment
Overall: 59.7 x 66 cm (23 1/2 x 26 in.)
The Norweb Collection 1957.27
Location: 235A Japanese
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Description

This horse’s tack, with its round bells, resembles saddlery in fashion in Korea during the 400s–500s CE. Concurrent with mass migration from the Korean Peninsula, tombs covered with large earthen mounds similar to those on the Asian continent began to appear in Japan around the year 300 CE. Called “old mounds” (kofun), their surfaces were covered with hollow clay cylinders (haniwa). Sculptures of animals, buildings, and finally human figures followed, developing over the ensuing three centuries.
Haniwa Horse

Haniwa Horse

400s–500s CE

Japan, Kofun period (c. 300–538 CE)

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