Female Polo Player

between 618 and 907

On View

Chinese Art, Level 1, North Wing

Female Polo Player: 1 of Collection Gallery

Female Polo Player: 2 of Collection Gallery

Female Polo Player: 3 of Collection Gallery

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About the Artwork

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About the Artwork

A female athlete skillfully rides this bucking horse. Her left hand once held onto reins, and she raises her right arm — perhaps winding up to strike a polo ball with a now-missing mallet.

Both men and women enjoyed polo, a popular sport in China during the Tang period (618 – 907). Because it was expensive to own and maintain horses, players typically belonged to elite social classes. The most highly valued horses came from Central and Western Asia; visitors from those same regions likely introduced polo to their Chinese hosts.

Ceramic figurines like this one were buried in the tombs of wealthy people. Called mingqi — a word that roughly translates to “spirit utensil” — they were believed to contain the essence of the person or thing represented, providing comfort and entertainment for the deceased in the afterlife.

Title Female Polo Player

Artwork Date between 618 and 907

Artist ----------

Life Dates ----------

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. Chinese

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. ----------

Medium Earthenware with pigments

Dimensions Overall: 13 1/2 × 6 × 14 5/8 inches (34.3 × 15.2 × 37.1 cm) Including base: 14 1/2 × 15 1/4 × 4 5/8 inches (36.8 × 38.7 × 11.7 cm)

Classification Sculpture

Department Asian Art

Credit Gift of Mrs. Gilmore G. Scranton

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 53.323

Markings

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Provenance

Mrs. Gilmore G. Scranton;
1953-present, gift to the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance, please visit:

Provenance page

Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

We welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.

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