Accession Number
1990/1.261

Title
Ladle

Artist(s)
Chinese

Artist Nationality
Chinese (culture or style)

Object Creation Date
25-220 CE

Medium & Support
earthenware with glaze

Dimensions
5 1/8 in x 4 15/16 in x 2 15/16 in (13.02 cm x 12.54 cm x 7.46 cm)

Credit Line
Museum purchase made possible by the Margaret Watson Parker Art Collection Fund

Subject matter
By the Western 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. Naturally, these objects 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.

Bowls, ladels and spoons in this shape, having a dragon handle, were a Han Dynasty innovation.  Han dynasty ceramic pictorial bricks depict men and women eating and drinking from dragon handled bowls.  

Physical Description
A red, round bottom, ovoid earthenware ladle with a long curved dragon headed handle.  It is covered in a green lead glaze with iridescence and calcification. 

Primary Object Classification
Ceramic

Primary Object Type
spoon

Collection Area
Asian

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form. Keywords
bowls (vessels)
ceramic (material)
dragons
earthenware
grave goods
lead glaze