Covered tripod

Tripod vessel of the type ting; two pierced handles. Cover with three knobs.
Clay: hard, gray, resonant. Reddish-brown on exposed surface.
Glaze: overflow of olive and blue on cover, and on feet.

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Historical period(s)
Western Han dynasty, 2nd century BCE
Medium
Stoneware with apllied and accidental wood-wash glazes
Style
Zhejiang green-glazed ware
Dimensions
H x W: 18.4 x 21.1 cm (7 1/4 x 8 5/16 in)
Geography
China, Zhejiang Province
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1909.331a-b
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Vessel (ting)

Keywords
China, stoneware, Western Han dynasty (206 BCE - 9 CE), Zhejiang green-glazed ware
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Description

Tripod vessel of the type ting; two pierced handles. Cover with three knobs.
Clay: hard, gray, resonant. Reddish-brown on exposed surface.
Glaze: overflow of olive and blue on cover, and on feet.

Label

This lidded vessel imitates a bronze ding tripod. Glaze was applied thinly and only to the lid, probably to avoid problems with the glaze's running down during firing. Wood ash from the fuel also accumulated and melted on the upper surfaces, creating natural glaze, and ash from the kiln roof or glaze from another vessel fell in several large drops. Ceramic tripods often appeared in a set of four different vessel shapes placed in tombs.

Published References
  • Thomas Dexel. Fruhe Keramik in China: Die Entwicklung der Hauptformen vom Neolithikum bis in die T'ang-Zeit. Braunschweig, Germany. pl. 35b.
  • Oriental Ceramics: The World's Great Collections. 12 vols., Tokyo. vol. 10, pl. 3.
  • Katherine R. Tsiang. Glazed Stoneware of the Han Tynasty. vol. 40, nos.2-3 Washington and Zurich. pp. 143-176, fig. 25.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Whistler's Neighborhood
Google Cultural Institute
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