Culture Insider: Chinese cultural relics lost overseas

The six stone horses of Zhao Mausoleum, Tang Dynasty

Bas Relief of “Saluzi” or “Autumn Dew” is one of the six stone horses of Zhao Mausoleum, housed in University of Pennsylvania.

The six stone horse reliefs, known in Chinese as “Zhaoling Liujun” (the six stone horses of Zhao Mausoleum), were commissioned by Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty in 636 and presumably completed in 649, the time of his death. The realistic depiction and exquisite carving techniques of these stone reliefs earn has them a unique place in Chinese art and sculpture history. They bear exceptional historical significance as personal relics of one of the greatest Chinese sovereigns.

They were broken by smugglers in 1914 and two of them were shipped abroad. The stonework is exhibited in the Stele Forest museum in Xi'an and at the museum of the University of Pennsylvania, US separately.

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