Ca. 386 - 534 AD A Chinese Wei Dynasty earthenware ox depicted with head tilted upwards with protruding eyes, flaring nostrils, open mouth, and curved horns. He is richly decorated with brown pigment, to create the effect of a patched coat. Across his back is a harness, with which he would have been attached to a cart. The raised head and open mouth suggests that the animal was agitated, perhaps at pulling his laden cart. The beast is modelled standing firmly with all four hooves on a rectangular plinth. For a comparison Christie's, lot 341, Dec 10, 2014. This piece has been precisely dated by means of a Thermo Luminescence analysis carried out by Ralf Kotalla, an independent German Laboratory. The samples collected date the piece to the period reflected in its style, whilst also showing no modern trace elements. The TL certificate with its full report will accompany this object. Report no 14AG08042022. Size: L:395mm / W:485mm ; 5.33kg Provenance: East Anglian private collection; formerly acquired in the early 1990s in Hong Kong.