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Details
- Place where the work was made
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China
- Period
- Han dynasty 206 BCE - 220 CE → China
- Date
- 206 BCE-220 CE
- Media category
- Ceramic
- Materials used
- earthenware with a low fired green lead glaze
- Dimensions
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24.5 x 20.0 cm
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a - lid, 10.2 x 20 cm
b - base, 14.3 x 20 cm
- Signature & date
Not signed. Not dated.
- Credit
- Gift of Angela Isles 2000
- Location
- Not on display
- Accession number
- 135.2000.a-b
- Copyright
- Share
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About
While many jars such as this have been recovered from Han tombs, their purpose remains unknown. In form, they resemble in form the high stemmed, pierced ‘hill’ incense burners made in ceramic and bronze. The moulded decoration around the body was a Han dyntasy innovation, adding lively depictions of real and imagined animals to the design. The feet of this cylindrical ‘hill’ jar are in the form of bears, their faces evident on close inspection.
The cover is moulded in the shape of mountains piled up to a central peak, with several animals and a single human figure on the slopes. This rugged landscape is thought to represent the legendary Daoist ‘Isles of the Blest’, the abode of the Immortals. Such jars may also symbolise a wish from the living for the deceased to reach these Isles of the Blest and attain immortality. That Daoist ideas are included in mortuary furniture reflects the strong influence Daoism exercised during the Han period. Han emperor Wu-ti (reigned 141 to 87 BC) is reported to have even sent an expedition in search of the Daoist Isles of the Blest in search of the elixir of life.
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Places
Where the work was made
China
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Exhibition history
Shown in 3 exhibitions
Early Chinese art, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 26 Feb 1983–08 May 1983
Conversations through the Asian collections, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 25 Oct 2014–13 Mar 2016
Open Studio (brick vase clay cup jug), Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 01 Jul 2023–07 Jan 2024
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Bibliography
Referenced in 1 publication
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Jackie Menzies, Early Chinese Art, Sydney, 1983, not paginated. cat.no. XV. See 'Further Information' for text.
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Provenance
Angela Isles, Feb 1983-May 2000, Australia, on loan to the exhibition 'Early Chinese Art' at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, 28 Feb- 8 May 1983. Donated to the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Sydney, May 2000.