拍品專文
In China, the ox is one of the twelve animals of the duodenary cycle, and also represents the forces of yin. An ancient ritual took place in the twelfth month, in which clay bulls were set out and destroyed, signifying the passing of winter and the coming of spring. Oxen similar to the present lot became part of the standard repertoire of the modellers of tomb figurines during the Northern Wei period; they remained in fashion until the middle of the eighth century. Similar models have been excavated from Northern Wei, Eastern Wei, Northern Qi and Sui tombs. Compare the slightly later model of an ox in the Yale University Art Gallery, exhibited, The Arts of the T'ang Dynasty, Los Angeles County Museum, 1957, Catalogue no.82, and also, The Communion of Scholars, China House Gallery, New York, 1982, Catalogue no.17, p.51; it was also illustrated by J. Fontein and Tung Wu, Unearthing China's Past, no.82, p.167, and by E. Schloss, Ming-ch'i: Clay Figures Reflecting Life in Ancient China, no.38.