Minneapolis Institute of Art

Ewe

China

Date

3000–2500 BCE

Medium

Earthenware

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

With little more than rolled and pinched bits of clay, a Neolithic artisan working over 4, 000 years ago deftly captured the essence of a ewe and ram. Small clay images of other domesticated animals including pigs, dogs, chickens, and sheep have been excavated from numerous neolithic sites throughout Hubei province. While it has been suggested that such figures were traded with neighboring peoples in Hunan and Henan provinces, we are uncertain of what purpose they may have served. China, Asia

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