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Galloping through millennia: A timeline of Chinese horse artifacts
Galloping through millennia: A timeline of Chinese horse artifacts
Horse head-shaped bronze chariot shaft ornament with gold and silver inlaid
Updated: Jun 17, 2026
China Bound
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This big-eyed bronze ornament was basically the "hood emblem" of a high-ranking chariot in the Warring States Period (475-221 BC), mounted at the very front of the chariot's shaft. Shaped like a horse's head, it is exquisitely inlaid with gold and silver cloud and scale motifs, radiating both power and prestige.
Discovered in 1951 in a noble tomb of the State of Wei in Huixian county, Henan province, this masterpiece is now housed in the National Museum of China.
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