Demonic Pottery Horses? Ceramics Hit the Big Screen

I have noticed a particular and peculiar thing on my TV lately. Pottery horses have come to life with glowing eyes and molten interiors showing through the cracks.

I'm referring to the trailer of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, of course. Even if I didn't enjoy a good action-adventure film, I'd have to down tools and go see this one, just for the chance to see cinematic versions of clay beasts and people come to life (apparently based on Qin Shihuangdi's tomb filled with life-sized terracotta statues).

The horses in the movie (here's a still photo) are derived from an ancient ceramic style of horse, but still similar to the ones seen in this photo of ceramic horses left outside a scrapped Tang Sancai factory in China.

Photo by China Photos / Getty Images