Tomb Sculpture of Ox-cart with Attendants

China was the richest, most cosmopolitan nation in the world during the reign of the Tang dynasty (618-906). The empire's borders encompassed lands from Korea to Vietnam to Central Asia, and its network of land and sea trade routes stretched even more distantly from Japan and Indonesia to Baghdad and Constantinople. The Tang capital of Chang'an (modern-day Xian) was home to people from all over the world who were drawn to the wealth and excitement generated by this remarkable state.

This sculpture of an oxcart attended by two grooms was probably made in the vicinity of Chang'an sometime around the middle of the seventh century. The facial features, hairstyles, and clothing of the grooms identify them as Central Asians, probably from Persia or Tajikistan. Central Asians were highly admired in Tang China for their skill in handling horses and other large animals, and it was fashionable to employ them as household servants. Having these exotic foreigners in one's personal retinue was a mark of both wealth and worldly sophistication.

Although the sculpture is finely modeled and attractive to look at, it was not made as an aesthetic object, but rather as a furnishing for a tomb. During the Tang dynasty, the Chinese conceived of the afterlife as a kind of parallel world where the spirits of the deceased enjoyed many of the same things they enjoyed in this life. To ensure that the afterlife was sufficiently comfortable, the Tang Chinese often buried their dead with actual or symbolic examples of the important possessions they would need or want in the spirit world. These grave goods frequently included ceramic models of people, animals, buildings, and equipment that would have been impractical and immoral to kill or destroy solely for the purposes of burial. Because ceramic is such a durable material, and because grave robbers traditionally never saw much value in them, tomb figures are now one of the most abundant and vivid sources of information we have about life in China during the Tang dynasty.

Tomb sculptures depicting oxcarts are relatively rare and Oberlin's is one of the finest known examples. The sculpture is among several important Chinese artworks that the AMAM acquired in the years just after World War II with funds provided by Oberlin College alumnus R. T. Miller, Jr. Other objects acquired at the same time and with the same funds include an ancient bronze ritual vessel and a Northern Qi Buddhist stele.