Plaque: Wild Goat and Deer

This plaque features two recumbent animals--a wild goat and a stag or gazelle--separated by a rectangular panel with a geometric pattern. The relief is shallow and the back of the plaque concave; a strap running across each hollow animal body at back served to attach the plaque to a leather belt. Ornaments with stacked animals reflecting the local fauna appear to have been popular among the non-Chinese peoples living east of the Taihang Mountains (in modern northeastern China). Blackish patina.