Pair of Plaques with Profile Animal Heads

Western Zhou dynasty ( 1046–771 BC ), 10th/8th century B.C.

China

This metal plaque is one of a pair that was beaten together to form mirror images of an animal head in profile with gaping mouth and curved fang. Similarly curved and perforated examples, which have been excavated from the burials of horses and chariots, suggest that these plaques originally formed the cheek pieces for a horse’s bridle. Alternatively, they may have been sewn onto leather to form defensive armor for the chest or back of a soldier.

Status: On View, Gallery 131
Department: Arts of Asia

Title: Pair of Plaques with Profile Animal Heads
Place: China (Artist's nationality:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1027 BCE–221 BCE
Medium: Bronze
Dimensions: 30.2 × 22.4 × 0.2 cm (11 7/8 × 8 13/16 × 3/16 in.)
Credit Line: Lucy Maud Buckingham Collection
Reference Number: 1931.3a-b
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/7521/manifest.json

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.