Han Antiquities

This pottery brazier, a burial artifact from the Han Dynasty, features quadrilateral sides that slope inward and a base with slits for ventilation. Each side is adorned with animal motifs and geometric patterns. The brazier stands...

Slab pottery constructed Model of a Paper Mill, in Green and Cream Color Glazed Terracotta having a peaked roof – open walled form with a mechanical pounder and a large round storage container. Light blue-green mottled glazed surface with some iridescence patina to the glaze. The Iridescence is a refraction of the layers on the glass that produces multicolor hues & metallic luster, and only develops after one thousand years of being buried in the ground. An unquestionable mark of antiquity, impossible to falsify. Han Dynasty, dated 206 B.C-220 A.D. Condition: Excellent, wear commensurate with age, an unusual example. This fantastic piece is accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. Sculptural effigies of domesticated animals were often interred in the tombs of nobility and elite members of the social hierarchy. Models like this one were made to represent everything from simple goat or pig pens to the most elaborate towers and palaces. Because very few ancient Chinese buildings have survived intact, these models, along with descriptions from ancient texts, give a good representation of what the buildings might have looked like. Burial figurines of graceful dancers, mystical beasts, and everyday objects reveal both how people in early China approached death and how they lived. Since people viewed the afterlife as an extension of worldly life, these figurines, called mingqi, sometimes referred as “spirit utensils” or “vessels of ghosts” disclose details of routine existence and provide insights into belief systems over a thousand-year period. For the first time in Chinese history, we have images of rural and daily life during the Han in the form of contemporary records...

Slab pottery constructed barn workshop having a peaked roof – open walled form with a mechanical pounder and a large round covered storage container. Light blue-green mottled glazed surface with some iridescence patina to the glaze. Condition: Intact, excellent condition, an unusual example. Provenance: The Living Torah Museum, Brooklyn; ex. Sands of Time, 2002. Sculptural effigies of domesticated animals were often interred in the tombs of nobility and elite members of the social hierarchy. Models like this one were made to represent everything from simple goat or pig pens to the most elaborate towers and palaces. Because very few ancient Chinese buildings have survived intact, these models, along with descriptions from ancient texts, give a good representation of what the buildings might have looked like. This fantastic piece is accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. Burial figurines of graceful dancers, mystical beasts, and everyday objects reveal both how people in early China approached death and how they lived. Since people viewed the afterlife as an extension of worldly life, these figurines, called mingqi, sometimes referred as “spirit utensils” or “vessels of ghosts” disclose details of routine existence and provide insights into belief systems over a thousand-year period. For the first time in Chinese history, we have images of rural and daily life during the Han in the form of contemporary...