| Some of the oldest artifacts in the University of Oklahoma's Fred Jones Museum of Art are located in the Asian gallery. I love when art becomes artifacts that teach history. It's one thing to interpret an artist's work, but many of the items in this area were actually in practical use in real life.  |  The small Buddha statuary in the gallery point to religious purpose of art. This is a different culture than most of us are used to, so there were some interesting descriptive markers to read in the area. Tradition and religion run rampant in the Buddhist world view. |
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The snaky dragon here is a fierce thing, still displaying vibrant colorings in spite of being some 500 years old. It reminds me of a plaster dragon that my parents purchased when I was a young boy. They bought it as decoration for our house, with the intent of placing on our television set - a purpose considerably different than the intent of this ancient piece.
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The dog at the top of this article, as well as the remaining photos below are funerary figures. Most were intended to accompany the dead into the next life.
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These were some of the oldest artifacts in the museum, but the Ox Head below intrigued me the most. The realistic sculpture has the closest chance of being made during the time of Christ.
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In the next report from the Fred Jones Museum of Art, I'll share a couple of photos from a more modern area of the museum.
