A Pottery Ox-Drawn Cart Ensemble

Likely Northern Wei, China, 386-535 CE The bullock, shown standing foursquare on a rectangular base, has a pronounced dewlap and a molded harness. The cart is an aristocratic conveyance for transporting people in comfort, not goods. The large spoked wheels are particularly fine and well-depicted. (Excavated rut tracks indicate that the Chinese began using wheeled carts approximately 4,000 years ago.) Both the bullock and cart are made from white pottery, with traces of original pigments added. All wooden elements are added. The roof over the cart may have been either cloth or wood, now lost to decay.