2006.170.275.A-C: Covered reliquary jar and stand

Identification and Creation

Object Number

2006.170.275.A-C

Title

Covered reliquary jar and stand

Other Titles

Original Language Title: 唐 彩繪陶塔形蓋罐

Classification

Ritual Implements

Work Type

reliquary

Date

7th-8th century

Places

Creation Place: East Asia, China, Henan province, Gongxian

Period

Tang dynasty, 618-907

Culture

Chinese

Persistent Link

https://hvrd.art/o/176655

Physical Descriptions

Medium

Earthenware with traces of cold painted pigments

Dimensions

H. 59.3 x Diam. 24.9 x W. 25.8 cm (23 3/8 x 9 13/16 x 10 3/16 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History

[Christian Boehm Oriental Art, London, 2000] sold; to Walter C. Sedgwick Foundation, Woodside, CA (2000-2006), 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 Alpheus Hyatt Purchasing Fund

Accession Year

2006

Object Number

2006.170.275.A-C

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Contact

am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Permissions

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Descriptions

Description

Buddhist reliquary consisting of three parts: pedestal stand, jar, and lid. The lower portion of the stand is bell-shaped, with sides flaring outward toward the flat base and constricting inward at top; a bowl-like receptacle with edges in the form of lotus petals crowns the top of the hollow stand; molded floral appliques and traces of floral designs painted in black pigment encircle the pedestal base; heads of makara creatures bearing pearls in their mouths encircle the join between pedestal and receptacle. The ovoid jar has broad, rounded shoulders, sides tapering inward to a flat base, short neck, and flat, everted rim; two incised horizontal lines encircle the jar along the shoulders and form a band that encloses four molded lion-head appliques. The circular lid is steeply domed and bears a stupa-form finial. All three are white earthenware with traces of orange pigment; one of the lion heads has an accidental spot of bright green glaze.

Commentary

Compare to:
(1) White glazed reliquary jar of closely related form with identical molded lion-head appliques and very similar domed lid with stupa-form finial excavated in 1993 from a Tang dynasty tomb in Gongyi, Henan province, now in the Henan Museum. See Zhongguo chutu ciqi quanji [Complete Collection of Chinese Ceramics Unearthed in China], vol. 12: Henan (Beijing: Kexue chubanshe, 2008), no. 91.
(2) Two cold-painted earthenware reliquary jars and stands of closely related form, the stands with virtually identical makara heads excavated in 1992 from Tang dynasty tomb M5 at the Beiyaowan cemetery near Gongyi, Henan province. See Kaogu xuebao [Acta Archaeologica Sinica] 3 (1996): pl. 19.4 and p. 383, fig. 25.5-6.
(3) Domed lid with very similar stupa-form finial and reliquary stand with virtually identical petalled receptacle excavated in 1992 from Tang dynasty tomb M3 at the Beiyaowan cemetery near Gongyi, Henan province. See Kaogu xuebao [Acta Archaeologica Sinica] 3 (1996): pl. 12.1 and p. 377, fig. 14.2-3.
(4) Sancai reliquary jar on a lotus pedestal with similarly shaped jar and stupa-form lid excavated in 1959 from a Tang dynasty tomb at Zhongbao village, Xi’an, Shaanxi province, now in the Shaanxi History Museum. See Zhongguo taoci quanji [The Complete Works of Chinese Ceramics], vol. 6: Tang, Wudai [Tang and Five Dynasties period] (Shanghai: Shanghai renmin meishu chubanshe, 2000), no. 128, pp. 132 and 245.

Subjects and Contexts

• Sedgwick Collection

Verification Level