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Ornamental Plaque Showing a Bullfight

Western Han dynasty (206 BCE–9 CE)

Not on view

This ornamental plaque comprises eleven figures and a bull, illustrating a bullfight preceding a ritual sacrifice. Plaques illustrating bullfights are often identified as one scene in a multipart ritual. Other, related scenes depict bulls running into the fray and being slain after capture. The function of these rectangular ornamental plaques is still under debate. Traces of silk or lacquered leather on some examples suggest that they may have been attached as surface ornaments to an organic material.

Ornamental Plaque Showing a Bullfight, Bronze, China — Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

西汉青铜滇人剽牛祭祀饰件

Title: Ornamental Plaque Showing a Bullfight

Period: Western Han dynasty (206 BCE–9 CE)

Culture: China

Medium: Bronze

Dimensions: W. 4 1/16 in. (10.3 cm); L. 5 1/4 in. (13.4 cm)

Classification: Sculpture

Credit Line: Lent by Lijiashan Museum of Bronzes

Accession Number: SL.1.2017.6.2

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Asian Art at The Met

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world.