Harvard Art Museums > 2006.170.206.A-B: Cylindrical tripod vessel (lian) with conical lid Vessels Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Cylindrical tripod vessel (lian) with conical lid , 2006.170.206.A-B,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Apr 25, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/186747. 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 2006.170.206.A-B Title Cylindrical tripod vessel (lian) with conical lid Other Titles Original Language Title: 東漢 釉陶奩 Classification Vessels Work Type vessel Date 25-220 CE Places Creation Place: East Asia, China Period Han dynasty, Eastern Han period, 25-220 CE Culture Chinese Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/186747 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. 27.7 x Diam. 21.1 cm (10 7/8 x 8 5/16 in.) Provenance Recorded Ownership History [J. J. Lally & Co., New York, December 1999] sold; to Walter C. Sedgwick Foundation, Woodside, CA (1999-2006), 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 2006.170.206.A-B 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 Cylindrical tripod vessel with legs in the form of crouching bears and conical, mountain-form lid with knob in the form of a seated human figure with head tilted and arm resting on one knee; vessel sides incised with two horizontal lines and embellished with a pair of molded simulated pushou-mask ring-handles, the peaked cover molded with a scene of tigers striding through a dense forest of stylized trees; red earthenware with lead-fluxed, caramel-brown glaze all over the vessel, including the base, the underside of the cover unglazed; with three small rectangular kiln supports on the vessel base. Commentary Compare to: Cylindrical jar of similar form and glaze but without a figural finial in a private collection in Asia. See Aileen Lau, ed., Spirit of Han: Ceramics for the After-Life (Singapore: Southeast Asian Ceramic Society; Sun Tree Publications, 1991), cat. 90, p. 114. 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
