Accession Number
1996/2.17

Title
Model of a granary

Artist(s)
Chinese

Artist Nationality
Chinese (culture or style)

Object Creation Date
206 BCE- 25 CE

Medium & Support
earthenware

Dimensions
11 in x 8 11/16 in x 8 11/16 in (27.94 cm x 22.07 cm x 22.07 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Diana and Theodore Golden

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, 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.   

Granaries such as this were symbolically storing grain for the deceased's afterlife. However, today these architectural models provide insight into what granaries looked like and how buildings were constructed during the Han Dynasty. 

Physical Description
A gray earthenware cylindrical granary, with bowstring decoration around the body, a domed lid with a circular opening, and three bear-shaped feet.

Primary Object Classification
Ceramic

Primary Object Type
funerary sculpture

Additional Object Classification(s)
Sculpture

Collection Area
Asian

Rights
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architectural models
ceramic (material)
earthenware
grave goods
models (representations)