Harvard Art Museums > 2006.170.207: Water dropper in the form of a Quadruped Artists' Tools Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Water dropper in the form of a Quadruped , 2006.170.207,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, May 03, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/174848. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Gallery Text By the Eastern Han period (when the Han capital was located in present-day Luoyang, Henan province), Chinese potters had discovered the efficacy of using lead-fluxed glazes for their ceramic burial wares. As a fluxing agent, lead oxide lowers the melting point of a glaze, reducing the amount of fuel required for firing. Copper and iron metal oxides were added to the glaze to impart the green and brown colors reminiscent of bronzes with different patinas; they were thus especially useful for glazing ceramic wares that imitated more expensive bronze ritual vessels. The decorative elements on these objects—mystical mountains with swirling clouds, mythical beasts, immortal figures, and bear-form supports—are associated with cosmological realms of immortals and closely replicate the relief ornamentation on sumptuous Han bronzes. Although the tombs of the most wealthy and important Han personages continued to be furnished luxuriously, ceramic reproductions of expensive burial goods and tomb sculptures representing animals, servants, and entertainers became acceptable substitutes for real objects and living creatures. Identification and Creation Object Number 2006.170.207 Title Water dropper in the form of a Quadruped Other Titles Original Language Title: 西晋 釉陶獸形硯滴 Classification Artists' Tools Work Type water dropper Date 3rd-4th century CE Places Creation Place: East Asia, China Period Jin dynasty, Western Jin period, 266-317 Culture Chinese Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/174848 Location Location Level 1, Room 1600, Early Chinese Art, Arts of Ancient China from the Bronze Age to the Golden Age View this object's location on our interactive map Physical Descriptions Medium Earthenware with brown lead glaze Technique Lead glaze Dimensions H. 6.4 x L. 12.9 x W. 5.7 cm (2 1/2 x 5 1/16 x 2 1/4 in.) Provenance Recorded Ownership History [J. J. Lally & Co., New York, January 2001] sold; to Walter C. Sedgwick Foundation, Woodside, CA (2001-2006), partial gift; to Harvard University Art Museums, 2006. Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Partial gift of the Walter C. Sedgwick Foundation and partial purchase through the David Stone Bequest Fund Accession Year 2006 Object Number 2006.170.207 Division Asian and Mediterranean Art Contact am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Descriptions Description Small vessel in the form of a winged quadruped, with head bowed and erbei wine cup attached to its forehead; with short tubular opening on the creature’s back and small circular opening on the forehead to dispense water into the cup; red earthenware with lead-fluxed, caramel-brown glaze over molded, incised, and applique decoration. Commentary Compare to: (1) Glazed ceramic water dropper in the form of a winged monster holding an erbei wine cup in its mouth excavated in 1974 from a Western Jin brick tomb dated 301 CE near Dushan village, Zou county, Zoucheng, Shandong province. See Wenwu [Cultural Relics] 1 (2005): 21, fig. 47. (2) Glazed ceramic water dropper in the form of a winged and horned monster holding an erbei wine cup in its mouth excavated in 2005 from a Western Jin brick tomb dated 289 CE in Linyi, Shandong province. See Wenwu [Cultural Relics] 7 (2005): 28, fig. 77. (3) Bronze water dropper in the form of a winged and horned monster excavated in 1998 from an early Eastern Jin (317–420 CE) brick tomb near Mount Xianhe, Nanjing, Jiangsu province. See Wenwu [Cultural Relics] 3 (2001): 10, fig. 17. (4) Bronze water dropper in the form of a winged and horned monster excavated in 2010 from a Western Jin brick tomb in Jiaozuo, Henan province. See Wenwu [Cultural Relics] 9 (2011): 64, fig. 18. Exhibition History 32Q: 1600 Early China II, Harvard Art Museums, 11/16/2014 - 01/01/2050 Subjects and Contexts Sedgwick Collection Verification Level This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
