Page 5 - 2021 March 16th Japanese and Korean Art, Christie's New York City

Haniwa of armored warriors and horses of the fifth century
The celebrated haniwa of a caparisoned horse in the
AD indicate the military power of the ancestors of the collection of the Tokyo National Museum which was
Imperial line and show that the horse must have played recorded by Gowland has since been enhanced with the
a major role in the unification struggles and the rise of addition of formerly missing parts of the harness, mane and
the Yamato clan. Although archaeology tells us that there tail. Now restored to its original condition it can be seen as
were wild horses in Japan long before the Kofun period, it a close relative of this fine haniwa here. The importance
is believed that they were never previously domesticated. of the horse to the early Yamato Emperors ensured that
That horses and riding accoutrements were brought it would forever be associated with the Shinto pantheon,
from China and Korea around the end of the fourth and and to this day a pair of horses, a black and a grey of pure
beginning of the fifth century is attested by tomb contents white, are kept in the shrine of the Sun Goddess at Ise,
which include both imported objects and objects made in reflecting the events of fifteen hundred years ago, and thus
Japan virtually identical to those found in Korean mounds preserving the grand scheme of the gods as portrayed in
of the same period. Representations of haniwa of horses the early unification myths.
are often found sculpted in such detail as to enable the
positive identification of metal fragments of horse trapping
found buried in the stone chambers of some tombs.
Haniwa horse’s head, Japan. Kofun period, 6th century. The Metropolitan Museum of Art,
69.249