The prosperous Tang dynasty (618–906 CE) saw China’s ceramics industry flourish, driven largely by the vast requirements of elaborate tomb furnishings. These included vessels and figurative objects intended for use by the dead, particularly nobility and high-ranking officials. These assemblages would be paraded through the streets before being displayed outside tombs and finally sealed inside special niches. Tang nobility began adopting the European mode of riding astride horses, which soon became the most popular tomb-ware animal.

This regal horse is covered in a cream-coloured glaze on all but its head, saddle and hooves, which were painted with pigment. At the rear of the horse is a small hole, where a tail made of real horsehair would have been attached. Splashes of coloured glaze became a popular technique in China in the seventh century. By the eighth century, a range of polychrome glazes were used, including early examples of cobalt blue and the popular Tang glazing style known as sancai (three colour), usually a combination of straw-white, amber and green.