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Mortuary Figures of the Zodiac Signs
Mortuary Figures of the Zodiac Signs
500s
Part of a set. See all set records
China, Northern Wei dynasty
(386-534)
Gray earthenware with traces of slip
Overall: 22.6 cm (8 7/8 in.)
The Norweb Collection 1972.76
Location
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Description
The twelve-animal zodiac series—rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and boar—signifies a traditional Chinese concept of time structured in a cyclical order. The twelve animals are also linked to the art of fortunetelling that underlies human existence in connection with the changes of the universe. The use of the twelve zodiac animals as tomb furniture suggests they provided a cosmological structure for the afterlife.
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