Mortuary Figure of the Zodiac Sign: Horse (Libra)
Unknown Artist
500s
Medium
gray earthenware with traces of slip
Dimensions
h. 22.6 cm
Classification
Sculpture
Department
Chinese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
The Norweb Collection
Accession Number
1972.76.7
About this artwork
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 fortune-telling 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.