GROUP OF MUSICIANS ON HORSEBACK

Description Between the 7th and 8th century CE, important funeral processions were often accompanied by musicians on horseback. The figurines commemorating the event were displayed with the other “luminous objects” of the funerary procession (mingqi) on large carriages in front of the wagon carrying the body. They were then usually placed in lateral niches, dug along the dromos that led to the actual tomb. Women play two forms of lute: pipa and ruan. The instruments used by men were: the bili oboe, the tonghou harp, the cymbals and the yaogu drum.