Shanghai Museum rounds up ox-themed art in show

A new Chinese zodiac show on the ox in ancient Chinese art opened on Feb 2, ushering in a series of seven exhibitions at the Shanghai Museum for the year 2021.

Four objects stand in glass cases in the lobby and four other pieces are scattered in the different showrooms at the Shanghai Museum. The zodiac exhibition features eight objects related o the ox, the symbolic animal for the Lunar New Year starting on Feb 12.

The museum hopes visitors could take a journey of discovery through the showrooms, to appreciate the wide representation of oxen in ancient Chinese culture, according to Chu Xin, deputy director of the exhibition department at the Shanghai Museum. The ox is prominent in Chinese art because the animal is closely related to two issues of vital importance in traditional Chinese society: farming and rituals, she said.

While six of the sculptures, paintings and jade objects with oxen on them are chosen from the collection of the Shanghai Museum, two objects from South Korea were loaned from the National Museum of Korea.