Plaque with a Winged Horse

North China

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 207

These plaques were created by (or for) the Xianbei, a nomadic people living in the steppes region of what is now Mongolia and northern China, who would later control a large part of northern China as the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534). According to the dynastic history of the Wei, they were led into China by a mysterious animal spirit that was shaped like a horse and that bellowed like an ox.

(One of a pair; see 24.174.7)

Plaque with a Winged Horse, Gilt bronze, North China

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Plaque with a Winged Horse, Gilt bronze, North China
Plaque with a Winged Horse, Gilt bronze, North China
Plaque with a Winged Horse, Gilt bronze, North China
Plaque with a Winged Horse, Gilt bronze, North China

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