An archaeological mystery 1,300 years in the making – why ancient Formosan creative person would sculpt a single “ unicorn ” in a sea of cavalry – has finally been solved . The reply : they did n’t . But a new study , published in the journalHeritage Science , has discovered what really happened .
The first half of the 8th century was agolden agein Chinese history . It was the acme of the Tang Dynasty ; the Emperor , Xuanzong , had become known for improvements and reformations in everything from the bureaucracy that ran the Empire to the transportation systems that reopen China to the world and spread the land ’s influence far and wide .
He was also known for his horses .
The Dancing Horse sculpture plus suspicious forehead tassel. Image credit: Cincinnati Art Museum
With the uptick in trade and military campaign – plus the Emperor ’s personal fondness for the animals – horses became a symbol of prosperity , associated with tartar , and ubiquitous throughout the land . Xuanzong himself was pronounce to have a stable of more than 40,000 , some of whom were specially trained to “ trip the light fantastic toe ” in prison term to the pulsation of a drum – he reportedly had 400 of them perform a dance to the “ Song of the Upturned Cup ” for one natal day jubilation , for example , which we ’re reckon is more than you ever got .
“ During the dramatic finale , one sawbuck would turn its genu and clinch a loving cup in its mouth and extend vino to the swayer to wish him longevity , ” explicate Hou - mei Sung , Cincinnati Art Museum ’s East Asian prowess conservator , in astatement . “ This became a rite . ”
And it ’s one of these horse cavalry that was memorialized in a little carving that ’s been causing so much fuss . Measuring just 66 cm ( 26 inch ) tall , the terracotta statue shows the fauna standing , mid - prance , with one hoof bring up from the earth . It wear a cover and a flowing slick stuff over its back , with 10 conical tassels hung decoratively around its body .
But that ’s where the problems arrive in . When the horse was originally crafted all those centuries ago , those tassels did n’t look how they do now – at some point in the past 1,300 age , somebody flip up their locating . And there ’s one in particular that give the secret plan aside .
“ The peculiarity of the Tang Dynasty dancing horse of the Cincinnati Art Museum is the mien of an odd locating of the tassel on the brow of the horse , ” explains the composition . “ The placement is unusual and is mate with an queer unfinished orbit on the consistence of the horse above the stomach leg where , logical with the tassel approach pattern around the physical structure , it appear that a tassel is missing . ”
To a medical specialist like Sung , it really sticks out . “ I believed it was a fault , ” she said . “ These pieces are so quondam . They often go through many repairs . ”
And so the museum reached out to Pietro Strobbia , an assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Cincinnati College of Arts and Sciences , to help see out what the rogue tassel was doing on the horse ’s brow – and whether it was original at all .
“ Many museum have a conservator , but not necessarily scientific quickness needed to do this kind of scrutiny , ” say Strobbia . “ The os frontale tassel await original , but the museum inquire us to determine what materials it was made from . ”
Along with collaborators such as the Institute of Heritage Science in Italy , Strobbia and his team took 11 tiny sample distribution from the carving for psychoanalysis . A barrage of molecular , chemical , and mineralogical tests of the horse , using cutting - boundary techniques like X - ray powder diffraction , ionic chromatography , and Raman spectrometry , bring out that the head tassel was n’t just misplaced – it was n’t original at all .
“ The odd tassel on the pass and other two tassels on the body are not original but replace or tot up in subsequent sentence , ” notes the newspaper publisher .
“ Once the tassel was take out there was no grounds on the head , such as marking , to indicate that there had ever been a clay attachment here , ” the authors explicate . “ Plaster … has been used at the top of the tassel to make a control surface that allow it to adapt to the frontal bone for attachment . Beneath the plaster a calcareous grey material can be seen which has a whole different curvature that does not match the forehead of the horse , further support that this tassel was never originally place on the forehead . ”
But while the forehead tassel may have bond out more than the others , it was n’t the only recent addition to the horse . In fact , three tassels in amount had been indemnify over the eld , and X - ray revealed faulting throughout the statue , from the Equus caballus ’s mane all the manner down to the political platform it tolerate on . At this level , the researchers discovered , it ’s actually being contain together in a large part by part of dowel pin .
“ It was restored at least doubly in its lifespan , ” said Kelly Rectenwald , Colorado - source of the paper and associate objects conservator at the Cincinnati Art Museum . “ Finding anything new about an nontextual matter is really interesting . ”
With the mystery of the horse with the forehead tassel solve , the case tolerate as a testament to how scientific discipline can assist inform artistic creation – and Strobbia hop-skip to be capable to help other museums with their collections in the future .
“ We do n’t have that kind of scientific equipment here , so partnering with UC has been a enceinte resourcefulness , ” said Rectenwald .
“ The making of the sculpture is beautiful , ” she added . “ These horses are celebrated . ”
