The Lunar Year of the Horse. A Gallop through Time and Space

Horse with two grooms, hanging scroll, ink and colors with gold on paper, Korea, late 19th century, Museum of East Asian Art, Inv. No. A 77,79 (Kurt Brasch Estate)

The Lunar Year of the Horse. A Gallop through Time and Space at the Museum of East Asian Art Cologne invites guests on a cultural and historical journey through time until January 31, 2027. The depiction of the horse in East Asian art is the focus of the show, which is being organized to mark the lunar year of the Fire Horse in 2026.

It sheds light on the powerful motif as a symbolic animal in China, Japan and Korea. Visitors can admire around 70 exhibits from the museum's own collection as well as selected loans ranging from the 3rd century BC to modern times. The exhibits include paintings, woodcut prints, ceramics, porcelain, bronze sculptures, lacquer objects, ivory carvings and textiles. Culture fans will discover various objects in the exhibition halls that make the close connection between art, myth and tradition in East Asian art tangible.

In the cultural context of China, the horse has shaped art and society for thousands of years as a status symbol, military companion and heavenly mount; the Tang and Qing dynasties in particular are known for their magnificent depictions in sculpture and painting. In Japan, the importance of the horse has manifested itself since the Nara period (710-794) in Shinto rituals, samurai iconography and Japanese woodblock prints, while in Korea a national system of horse breeding has existed since the Three Kingdoms period. Horses appear here primarily in grave goods and ceremonial depictions as a sign of authority, loyalty and status.

A special highlight of the exhibition is the artistically animated adaptation of a section from the Chinese transverse scroll "Autumnal Hunt" by filmmaker Jie Lu, who translates the historical image of horses into moving images.