Provenance:
- With J.J. Lally & Co, New York 1990'-s
- With J. Berwald, London 2020
TL- Tested by Oxford Authentication
Condition Report Available
Price on request
This object can be viewed in our gallery.
A grey pottery figure of a recumbent ox (niu 牛), reclining on its right hip. Its right front leg is bent, the hoof resting on the ground; the left leg is folded under itself. The stocky body is realistically modelled, its horned head held up and the tail is draped over the left buttock. Folds of hide surround the slightly humped neck and run down its front. The ox has an alert expression, with the short ears folded back and creases around the mouth and eyes. The hollow body is made with a mould and cold-painted after firing in beige and brown pigments. It is fairly unusual to find single domesticated bovine depicted in pottery from the Tang period; as they are more often found depicted with a harness and cart.
In China the ox is of symbolic, as well as mythological importance. Since ancient times, the ox was used to work on the land, so it became closely associated with fertility and successful harvests. They represent diligence, perseverance and endurance and were not easily affected by their surroundings - sticking to their habits and natural abilities. The welfare of oxen was considered crucially important for farming - if the oxen were not well, food production would be affected and ultimately the people would suffer. Confucius (551-479 BC) describes in the Book of Rites (liji) how the emperor should plow furrows with an ox as an important annual spring ritual. In literature dating from as early as the Eastern Zhou period (770-256 BC), the ox is referred to as one of the crucial Six Domestic Animals (liuchu 六畜) – the others being the dog, pig, goat, horse and fowl. The welfare of all the liuchu was interpreted as a reflection of a well ordered cosmos, vital for safeguarding social order. There are many ancient Chinese legends which connect oxen to water, as it was thought they were able to calm the fury of the rivers and its demons. The ox is the second sign of the Chinese zodiac and represents yin forces.
The British Museum has a small Tang dynasty figure of a standing ox formerly in the Eumorfopoulos collection (acc.nr. 1938,0524.50) and the Victoria & Albert Museum has a glazed standing ox (acc.nr. C.84-1939). Museé Guimet, Paris, holds a glazed figure of a bovine (acc.nr. MA4024).
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