Most likely made for an ancient tomb, these five polychrome painted bricks are adorned with with ladies and guard, another brick molded with chariot figures and animals.

Tomb painting is an art in which China has made some of its highest achievements and both the Tang and Han dynasties created vast and beautiful tomb murals.

The Tang dynasty (/ta:r/, (thăn): Chinese: /#(a]), or the Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Historians generally regard the Tang as a high point in Chinese civilization, and a golden age of cosmopolitan culture.

Tang territory, acquired through the military campaigns of its early rulers, rivaled that of the Han dynasty.

Chinese culture flourished and further matured during the Tang era. It is traditionally considered the greatest age for Chinese poetry. Two of China’s most famous poets, Li Bai and Du Fu, belonged to this age, contributing with poets such as Wang Wei to the monumental Three Hundred Tang Poems. Many famous painters such as Han Gan, Zhang Xuan, and Zhou Fang were active, while Chinese court music flourished with instruments such as the popular pipa. Tang scholars compiled a rich variety of historical literature, as well as encyclopedias and geographical works. Notable innovations included the development of woodblock printing.