Shaanxi History Museum

3. Silver Pot with Cup-in-Mouth Dancing Horse Design

Age：Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907)

This bronze pot features a decorative design of a horse with a ribbon around its neck and its tail flowing in the air. The horse holds a drinking cup in its mouth -- an allusion to poetry from the period describing "dancing horses." Dancing horses were often used as entertainment at the time. It is said that during the performance, the horses were given wine to drink in cups, which they learned to pick up and tilt into their mouths. Records show that the horses were used in this manner to celebrate Emperor Xuanzong’s birthday.