Tomb Tower
Brooklyn Museum photograph
Object Label
Architectural models made for the tomb provide evidence for the above-ground wooden architecture, which has not survived. The green lead glaze on the ceramic tower was only used on burial goods. This three-story tower has figures posed either at balustrade corners or peering out of the front windows. The eaves are made to resemble ceramic tile and are ornamented on the corners with four double-edged petals. The lower story has dougang brackets in the forms of dragons. The decorative circular tiles at the end of the roof eaves have the same pattern as tiles excavated in the ruins of palaces in both Han capitals, Chang’an (modern day Xi’an) of the Western Han and Luoyang of the Eastern Han, implying that this tomb model might replicate a real structure at the entryway to the Han capital.
Caption
Tomb Tower, 25 B.C.E.–220 C.E.. Earthenware, lead glaze, Height: 42 in. (106.7 cm) a bottom: 8 1/8 x 13 3/8 x 14 3/4 in. (20.6 x 34 x 37.5 cm) b 1st story: 20 3/8 x 12 x 12 1/4 in. (51.8 x 30.5 x 31.1 cm) c 2nd story: 13 3/4 x 14 1/2 x 13 1/2 in. (34.9 x 36.8 x 34.3 cm) d balcony: 6 3/4 x 10 5/8 x 9 1/2 in. (17.1 x 27 x 24.1 cm) e top : 15 1/2 x 13 1/2 x 13 in. (39.4 x 34.3 x 33 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased from the Schloss Collection with funds given by Dr. Richard and Ruth Dickes, Lucille and Martin E. Kantor, Dr. Robert and Bernice Dickes, Florence and Irving Kingdon, Dr. Bertram H. Schaffner, Dora Wong, and Diane H. Schafer and Frank L. Babbott Fund, 1997.142a-e. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 1997.142a-e_SL3.jpg)
Collection
Collection
Title
Tomb Tower
Date
25 B.C.E.–220 C.E.
Dynasty
Eastern Han Dynasty
Period
Eastern Han Dynasty
Geography
Place made: China
Medium
Earthenware, lead glaze
Classification
Dimensions
Height: 42 in. (106.7 cm) a bottom: 8 1/8 x 13 3/8 x 14 3/4 in. (20.6 x 34 x 37.5 cm) b 1st story: 20 3/8 x 12 x 12 1/4 in. (51.8 x 30.5 x 31.1 cm) c 2nd story: 13 3/4 x 14 1/2 x 13 1/2 in. (34.9 x 36.8 x 34.3 cm) d balcony: 6 3/4 x 10 5/8 x 9 1/2 in. (17.1 x 27 x 24.1 cm) e top : 15 1/2 x 13 1/2 x 13 in. (39.4 x 34.3 x 33 cm)
Credit Line
Purchased from the Schloss Collection with funds given by Dr. Richard and Ruth Dickes, Lucille and Martin E. Kantor, Dr. Robert and Bernice Dickes, Florence and Irving Kingdon, Dr. Bertram H. Schaffner, Dora Wong, and Diane H. Schafer and Frank L. Babbott Fund
Accession Number
1997.142a-e
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
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