Top Story of a Tower (Tomb Model)
Eastern Han dynasty (A.D.25–220)
Medium
Earthenware with green lead glaze
Dimensions
44.5 × 37.5 × 38 cm (17 1/2 × 14 3/4 × 14 15/16 in.)
Classification
earthenware
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
12028
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
As burial practices filtered down from the Han aristocracy to officials and landowners, tomb models related to farming, an honored occupation, became increasingly popular. These models provide rough but lively impressions of rural compounds. The granary, used to store millet, barley, and wheat, was depicted either as a jar or as a small building. This building combines realistic and imaginative details: angular brackets support a tiled roof with ridgepoles and roundels and crowned with an oversi...
About the Artist
Unknown
The artist designated as "Unknown" in our virtual museum's collection exemplifies a poignant chapter in art history: creators whose identities have faded into obscurity despite the enduring power of their work. With only one known artwork attributed to them in our holdings, this figure represents countless anonymous hands that shaped visual culture across centuries. Museums worldwide, including th...