Minneapolis Institute of Art

Yoke rattles in the form of a bird

China

Date

12th–11th century BCE

Medium

Bronze

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

These bronze bird finials crowned the ends of chariot poles. The stylized animals, with their decorative flanges and C–shaped horns, are in keeping with the aesthetics of ritual vessels of the Shang dynasty, the era preceding the Western Zhou dynasty (c. 1046–c. 771 bce). One of the birds was cast with a pellet inside its body cavity, which creates a rattling sound when moved. What certain animals meant to the ancient Chinese remains speculative, but they all seem to have held protective and auspicious powers. China, Asia

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