Model of a Wellhead
Unknown Artist
Medium
Green unglazed pottery
Dimensions
H. 4 3/4 in. (12.1 cm); W. 9 in. (22.9 cm); D. 5 7/8 in. (14.9 cm)
Classification
Tomb Pottery
Culture & Period
China · Han dynasty (206 B.C.–A.D. 220)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Sadajiro Yamanaka, 1911
Accession Number
11.7.1
Tags
About this artwork
This green unglazed pottery model of a wellhead demonstrates the sophisticated funerary traditions of China's Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE). Created as mingqi, or 'spirit articles,' such objects provisioned the deceased for their journey into the afterlife. The dead were supplied with a broad range of mingqi depicting staples and comforts they would need in the tomb—entire farms complete with granaries, wells, and watchtowers were recreated in miniature. Wellhead and bucket models were among the ...