Horses play an important role in ancient warfare and were considered by many as the defining factor in gaining an advantage in battle. Warring States period ruler King Wuling of Zhao (340-295 BC), realised the advantage in having lighter and faster cavalry troops rather than cumbersome chariots, hence instituted the reform in military tactics known as 胡服騎射 hufu qishe, which literally translates as 'wearing nomadic Hu attire, shooting arrows from horseback'.|The current lot however shows the change of the horse into an object of admiration for the academic and scholarly class, it is depicted passively as recumbent.