Funerary jar (hunping)
late 3rd century
Description
Broad-shouldered jar supporting a multi-tiered, tiled-roof architectural complex surrounded by birds, monkeys, dragons, and numerous male figures engaged in various activities; the sides of the jar further embellished with molded appliques of kneeling male figures bearing a staff; light gray stoneware with olive-green celadon glaze over molded and applique decoration; flat, circular base unglazed. From the Yue kilns in the Shaoxing area, northeastern Zhejiang province. Hunping, or “urns of the soul,” were fashioned to house the spirit of individuals and placed in tombs. Such vessels were produced for a relatively short period, from the third to fourth century, in the lower Yangzi River region.
Dimensions
H. 49 x Diam. 28 cm (19 5/16 x 11 in.)
Provenance
[Kaikodo, New York, September 1998] sold; to Walter C. Sedgwick Foundation, Woodside, CA (1998-2006), partial gift; to Harvard University Art Museums, 2006.
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