Three hares sharing three ears
About the work
Imported from the workbook's Full reassessment sheet, revised 7 October 2026 (record ID 103). The assessment below is the workbook's comparative judgment under its stated criteria; source links and limits are retained.
Workbook assessment: Spread only
Date or witness: Dunhuang examples from around 600 CE; European examples 13th–15th centuries
Region: China, Central and West Asia, Europe
Workbook date-sort bounds: 600 CE to 1500 CE; these bounds are not automatically invention or disappearance dates.
Description
Three animals chase in a circle, apparently possessing two ears each while sharing only three ears in total. Closely similar designs recur across distant regions and media.
Evidence of adoption or transmission
The three-hares design appears across regions and media; distinct medieval tile designs are recorded at Chester and Long Crendon in addition to sacred architectural imagery.
What remains uncertain
Variation and geographical spread are real; who adopted it, why, and through which route remain uncertain. Artisans making church decoration are not proof of self-directed working-class adoption. The supposed Devon miners' origin is a modern myth, not evidence of grassroots medieval spread.
Workbook revision note: Reassessed using grassroots criteria