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Tile: C.2-1968

An image of Tile
View image details Mirador icon - view image Mirador deep zoom IIIF Manifest IIIF Manifest Slow looking

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An image of Tile
An image of Tile
An image of Tile
Current Location: Gallery 28 - Arts of Asia Gallery

Maker(s)

Maker: Unknown

Entities

Categories

Description

Unglazed grey earthenware tomb tile, which originally faced the interior or a Han brick tomb. With impressed and incised designs of a winged horse and a tree in which a bird perches. Above the horse, another slightly different winged creature hovers. The tile still has traces of red, white and light yellow paint, and also in the upper left hand corner of the tree a wooden stamp impression remains.

According to William White, a lute made from the wood of the Wu t'ung tree would cure the sick, quiet the restles spirit, and draw the fairies and phoenixes to the music. Down through the ages coffins made of its wood ensured peace of the departed spirit. The bird in the tree is perhaps a phoenix, for this bird of good omen would only rest in the Wu t'ung tree.

Notes

History note: Probably from the area of Qincun, Loyang in Henan.

Legal notes

Bequeathed by Mrs Walter Sedgwick through National Art Collections Fund

Measurements and weight

Height: 40.6 cm
Length: 44.4 cm

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1968-02-01) by Sedgwick, Walter, Mrs

Dating

Han Dynasty (BC 206 - AD 220)
Circa -0202 - -0220

Components of the work

Decoration

Materials used in production

Paint
Earthenware

Techniques used in production

Unglazed

References and bibliographic entries

Related exhibitions

Identification numbers

Accession number: C.2-1968
Primary reference Number: 17472

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Monday 22 April 2024

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "Tile" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/17472 Accessed: 2025-12-07 16:25:12

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{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/17472 |title=Tile |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-07 16:25:12|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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