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Mortuary Figure of the Zodiac Sign: Serpent (Virgo)
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
The twelve-animal zodiac series—rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and boar—signifies a traditional Chinese concept of time structured in a cyclical order. The twelve animals are also linked to the art of fortunetelling that underlies human existence in connection with the changes of the universe. The use of the twelve zodiac animals as tomb furniture suggests they provided a cosmological structure for the afterlife.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineMortuary Figure of the Zodiac Sign: Serpent (Virgo), 500s. China, Northern Wei dynasty (386-534). Gray earthenware with traces of slip; overall: 22.6 cm (8 7/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Norweb Collection, 1972.76.6
