Bronze Wheel

Sanxingdui Museum

This large, 85cm (33in) wheel-shaped object is a thin piece of bronze that was intended to be mounted; the exhibition catalogue describes it as an "applique." Altogether, six of these were reconstructed from fragments at the site. The museum label offers several alternative identifications for this object. It might be a sun-symbol (the interpretation favored by the excavators and the museum), a chariot wheel, or a decoration on a shield.

The wheel was cast in six parts: the rim was divided into five equal parts, each with its integral projecting spoke, and the central hub formed the sixth and last part.