Accession Number
1974/1.173

Title
Bowl

Artist(s)
Chinese

Artist Nationality
Chinese (culture or style)

Object Creation Date
206 BCE-220 CE

Medium & Support
glaze on earthenware

Dimensions
2 7/16 in x 6 7/16 in x 6 7/16 in (6.19 cm x 16.35 cm x 16.35 cm);3 11/16 in (9.37 cm);x 8 7/8 in x 22.54 cm;x 8 7/8 in x 22.54 cm

Credit Line
The Oliver J. Todd Memorial Collection

Subject matter
By the Han dynasty, basic household bowls, plates, basins, jars, etc., were produced in great quantity, not only for use in daily life, but also specifically for tombs as mingqi (明器) (literally "bright objects"), or grave goods, as a way to provide for the deceased.  These mingqi  included everything one would need during the afterlife, and reflected daily life during the Han.  Mingqi could include houses, towers, gates, granaries, livestock pens, chicken coops, wells, cooking stoves, storage vessels, dishes, incense burners, lamps and figures such as horses, dogs, anthropomorphic animals, and people such as officials, guardians, servants and entertainers, and more.  The number of ceramic mingqi items in a tomb could reach numbers of a few to several hundred objects.   Basic bowls or basins such as this would have been widely used by almost every stratum of society. 

Physical Description
A flat bottomed, red earthenware bowl with rounded sides and everted rolled rim.  It is covered in green lead glaze, with iridescence and calcification. 

Primary Object Classification
Ceramic

Primary Object Type
bowl

Additional Object Classification(s)
Ceramic

Collection Area
Asian

Rights
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Keywords
bowls (vessels)
ceramic (material)
earthenware
grave goods
lead glaze