Ceramic Tang Horse Figurine in Glossy Green or Celadon, Single or Pair

A small glazed ceramic horse in the round, stylized shape of the classic Tang horse figure. It comes in two poses, one with its head bowed low and one with its head lifted toward the sky. It stands about three and a half inches tall in a deep glossy green or a pale celadon, and you can have either pose on its own or both together as a pair.

No base. No painted face. Just a full round chest, a round rump, four short legs and a glaze glossy enough to catch the window. In traditional Chinese decoration the Tang horse has long stood for blessing and prosperity. That is why you so often see one on a desk, a tea table or the shelf by the front door.

Two poses that read as a pair

The head-down horse arches its neck forward like a chess knight and tucks its muzzle in toward its chest, so it looks calm and a little proud. The head-up horse does the opposite, with a long upright neck and its nose raised. Set nose to nose, the two of them make a small scene that a single ornament never quite manages.

They are separate pieces, so you can stand them face to face, walk them one behind the other along a mantel, or split them between two rooms. On the green head-down horse a ribbed mane runs over the arch of the neck like the teeth of a comb. Under the thicker celadon glaze that same mane comes out smooth.

Green or celadon, one horse or both

Green is a deep bottle green, almost black where the shadow falls, with bright highlights wherever the light hits it. It stands out best on pale oak, a white shelf or a cream wall. Celadon is a soft, pale jade green with the same high gloss, quieter in a room, and it looks its best against walnut, dark painted wood or a row of dark book spines.

The pair gives you one head-up and one head-down horse in the same glaze. If you only want one, pick the pose: head down for a calm, settled look, head up for something more alert. The glaze can vary a little from piece to piece.

Small enough for a desk or a tea tray

Each horse is about the height of a coffee mug and sits comfortably in your palm. So it fits the places a bigger sculpture cannot: the corner of a desk, the end of a row of books, the narrow ledge under a mirror. On a tea tray it sits happily beside a clay teapot and a few cups, and its broad back gives the teapot lid somewhere to rest while the tea steeps.

Wherever it goes, it adds a spot of color and a bit of old tradition to a room without asking for much space.

Specifications

Type: Decorative figurine

Material: Ceramic with a gloss glaze

Colors: Green, Celadon

Styles: Pair, Head Up, Head Down

Pair: One head-up horse and one head-down horse in the same glaze

Head Up dimensions: 3.6 in tall, 3.6 in long, 1.9 in wide (9.2 x 9.1 x 4.7 cm)

Head Down dimensions: 3.5 in tall, 3.7 in long, 1.9 in wide (9 x 9.5 x 4.7 cm)

Mane: Ribbed on the green head-down horse; smooth on the green head-up horse and on both celadon horses

Finish: High gloss, with unglazed foot tips

Sizes: Approximate; each piece can vary slightly

Display: Freestanding on four legs, no base

Use: Indoor decoration

Package Includes

Pair:

1x Head Up Ceramic Tang Horse Figurine

1x Head Down Ceramic Tang Horse Figurine

Head Up:

1x Head Up Ceramic Tang Horse Figurine

Head Down:

1x Head Down Ceramic Tang Horse Figurine