Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

Ashmolean − Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

The Barlow Collection

A select catalogue of the Barlow collection of Chinese Ceramics, Bronzes and Jades by the University of Sussex (published Sussex, 2006).

The Barlow Collection by the University of Sussex

Publications online: 456 objects

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Figure of a mule with a sack across its back

  • loan
  • Literature notes

    The animal is standing four-square on a rectangular plinth, the head slightly inclined, the ears pricked. The features are faintly indicated, the neck with a sharp ridge to represent a docked mane, the body with slender legs and a long tail. A bulging sack has been slung over a straight saddlecloth, with incised lines to depict folds, and the strap of a harness is visible at the back, raised in slight relief. The grey pottery is covered with a white dressing.

    A similarly laden figure of a horse, recovered from the Sui dynasty tomb of Li Jingxun in Xi’an, Shaanxi province, can be dated to the year AD 608. A somewhat earlier figure, preserved in the Datong City Institute of Archaeology, was excavated from the tomb of Song Shaozu which is datable to AD 477.
  • Details

    Associated place
    Asia China (north) (place of creation)
    Date
    Sui Dynasty (AD 589 - 618)
    Material and technique
    earthenware, moulded and luted together, painted white, and with incised decoration
    Dimensions
    18.6 x 22 x 10.9 cm (height x width x depth)
    Material index
    Technique index
    Object type index
    No. of items
    1
    Credit line
    Lent by the Sir Alan Barlow Collection Trust.
    Accession no.
    LI1301.403
  • Further reading

    University of Sussex, and Arts and Humanities Research Council, The Barlow Collection, supervised by Regina Krahl, Maurice Howard, and Aiden Leeves (Sussex: University of Sussex, 2006), no. S10

Glossary (2)

earthenware, luted

  • earthenware

    Ceramic material made of clay which is fired to a temperature of c.1000-1200⁰c. The resulting ceramic is non-vitreous and varies in colour from dark red to yellow.

  • luted

    The fusion of parts of ceramics using dilute clay slip.

Location

    • currently in research collection

Objects are sometimes moved to a different location. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis. Contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular object on display, or would like to arrange an appointment to see an object in our reserve collections.

 

Publications online

  • The Barlow Collection by the University of Sussex

    The Barlow Collection

    The animal is standing four-square on a rectangular plinth, the head slightly inclined, the ears pricked. The features are faintly indicated, the neck with a sharp ridge to represent a docked mane, the body with slender legs and a long tail. A bulging sack has been slung over a straight saddlecloth, with incised lines to depict folds, and the strap of a harness is visible at the back, raised in slight relief. The grey pottery is covered with a white dressing.

    A similarly laden figure of a horse, recovered from the Sui dynasty tomb of Li Jingxun in Xi’an, Shaanxi province, can be dated to the year AD 608. A somewhat earlier figure, preserved in the Datong City Institute of Archaeology, was excavated from the tomb of Song Shaozu which is datable to AD 477.
Notice

Object information may not accurately reflect the actual contents of the original publication, since our online objects contain current information held in our collections database. Click on 'buy this publication' to purchase printed versions of our online publications, where available, or contact the Jameel Study Centre to arrange access to books on our collections that are now out of print.

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