Finial for funeral canopy [V-3848]
Northern Hebei and western Liaoning, China
6th-5th century BC

This pole top features a stylised horse, the most important domestic animal of the steppe peoples. It once topped the corner of a colourful burial canopy. The Greek historian Herodotus described how the western steppe peoples sacrificed horses at the burial of important chiefs. Excavations in southern Siberia and north-eastern Kazakhstan reveal the same practice far to the east.

Yoke ornament [V-3132]
Western Inner Mongolia
5th-4th century BC

This doe is one of four bronze deer that once ornamented the yokes of a wheeled burial vehicle. The remarkably large ears of the doe suggest that it is the wapiti (Cervus canadiensis asiaticus), the largest and most widely-spread deer of the steppe regions. Perhaps the choice of a doe rather than a stag for the burial vehicle indicates the hope of rebirth or well-being for the deceased.

Awl Case [V-3057]
North-eastern China or south-eastern Inner Mongolia
8th-7th century BC

This tubular awl case bears four bands showing rows of deer in relief, stags alternating with does. The species is probably the wapiti (Cervus canadiensis asiaticus), a deer whose various sub-species are widely distributed in the mountainous regions of southern Siberia, Mongolia and northern China. Female wapiti, like those on the awl case, do not have antlers.