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Date : July 29, 2010 Valid until : December 2, 2007 |
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Funerary Objects from Han Dynasty - Living through Miniature Clay Models
| Room 5, Toyokan |
Tuesday, September 4 - Sunday, December 2, 2007 |
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Cooking Stove, Probably from Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China, Western Han Dynasty, 2nd - 1st century BC
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During the Han dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD) in ancient China, many tombs were built for wealthy farmers, merchants, and officials. Excavations of these tombs have uncovered clay models of various items related to daily life. These include wells, stoves, barns, and storehouses, as well as cooking jars and food storage vessels.
The inclusion of these items in the tombs reflects the hope that the deceased would have no problems living in the afterlife. Items made for the sole purpose of burying in tombs are called Minqi. Life-size versions were too big to bury
in tombs, so the clay miniatures were used instead.
The shapes and decorations found among Minqi make them stand out. For example, you can see relief of a number of food ingredients and cooking-tools on stove-shaped models, and then imagine how they were cooking. We hope you enjoy the
sights of life roughly 2000 years ago, as glimpsed through the clay models.
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 Major works in this exhibition |
* Works listed below are in the TNM Collection unless otherwise indicated.
Gray Pottery Cooking Stove, , Allegedly from Luoyang, Henan Province, Eastern Han Dynasty, 1st - 3rd century
Cooking Stove, Probably from Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China, Western Han Dynasty, 2nd - 1st century BC
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Suggestion Box | 
