Figurine of a boy on the back of a recumbent ox
A ceramic figurine representing a boy sitting on the back of a recumbent ox. The image is related to the The Ten Oxherding Pictures from the Chan/Zen tradition of Buddhism, which symbolically represent the process of attaining enlightenment. The figure is glazed in red-brown, black, blue, green, and yellow. The boy is holding a fruit in his right hand. He is wearing blue trousers and a long green jacket with a blue collar and belt. On his head he wears a yellow hat. The ox is of dark, red-brown colour with black eyes. The whole figure is hollow and has a round hole in the base. The object most probably dates from the reign of Emperor Kangxi (1662–1722). (TB, HM)
Material description: ceramics, coloured glazing
Manufacturing technique: modelled and glazed ceramics
Dimensions: height (max): 11.5 cm, width (max): 10.5 cm, length (max): 18.5 cm
No. of parts: 1
Current owner: Slovene Ethnographic Museum
Date of the last acquisition: 1963
Last acquisition method: donation
Previous owners and periods of ownership: Ivan Skušek, Jr. and Tsuneko Kondō Kawase – Marija Skušek, National Museum of Slovenia, Slovene Ethnographic Museum
Object condition, handling and damage: well preserved
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