Harness Frontlet 2 at The British Museum, London

myminifactory

Large face ornaments were placed on the heads of horses just below their ears, these ornaments would have been laid along the noses of horses harnessed to chariots. The 10th century BC started with the first day of 1000 BC and ended with the last day of 901 BC. This period followed the Bronze Age collapse in the Near East, and the century saw the Early Iron Age take hold there. The Greek Dark Ages which had come about in 1200 BC continued on. The Neo-Assyrian Empire was established towards the end of the 10th century BC. In Iron Age India, the Vedic period was ongoing at this time. In China, the Zhou Dynasty held power during this era. The European Bronze Age continued with Urnfield culture. Japan was inhabited by an evolving hunter-gatherer society during the Jomon period. The Western Zhou period (1046-771 BC) was the first half of the Zhou dynasty of ancient China. It began when King Wu of Zhou overthrew the Shang dynasty at the Battle of Muye. The dynasty was successful for about seventy-five years and then slowly lost power. The former Shang lands were divided into hereditary fiefs which became increasingly independent of the king. In 771, the Zhou were driven out of the Wei River valley; afterwards real power was in the hands of the king's nominal vassals. Few records survive from this early period and accounts from the Western Zhou period cover little beyond a list of kings with uncertain dates. King Wu died two or three years after the conquest. Because his son, King Cheng of Zhou, was young, his brother, the Duke of Zhou, assisted the young and inexperienced king as regent. Wu's other brothers, concerned about the Duke of Zhou's growing power, formed an alliance with other regional rulers and Shang remnants in a rebellion. The Duke of Zhou stamped out this rebellion and conquered more territory to bring other people under Zhou rule. The Duke formulated the Mandate of Heaven doctrine to counter Shang claims to a divine right of rule and founded Luoyang as an eastern capital. With a feudal fengjian system, royal relatives and generals were given fiefs in the east, including Luoyang, Jin, Ying, Lu, Qi, and Yan. While this was designed to maintain Zhou authority as it expanded its rule over a larger amount of territory, many of these became major states when the dynasty weakened. When the Duke of Zhou stepped down as regent, the remainder of Cheng's reign (1042-1021 BC) and that of his son King Kang of Zhou (1021-996 BC) seem to have been peaceful and prosperous. This object is part of "Scan The World". Scan the World is a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory, through which we are creating a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks, and landmarks from across the globe for the public to access for free. Scan the World is an open-source community effort. If you have interesting items around you and would like to contribute, email stw@myminifactory.com to find out how you can help. Scanned using Photogrammetry (Processed using Agisoft PhotoScan).