Tomb model of a watch tower
date: label: Date
content: 2nd century
label: Period
content: Eastern Han dynasty
notes: label: Description
content: Model of a watch tower in two stories and roof, set in a bowl-shaped moat (4 sections). Figures of archers and birds; of swans, frogs, turtles and fish in the moat
label: Description
content: Clay: soft, reddish.
label: Description
content: Glaze: green, slightly iridescent.
label: Description
content: Decoration: incised parallel lines.
label: Label
content: A tower of two stories, each protected by its own roof, stands in a bowl-shaped moat containing small models of swans, frogs, turtles, and fish. Perching birds and human sentries are located at the four corners of each level. Earthenware towers, such as the one seen here, are sometimes found among the grave goods in tombs from the Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 C.E.), and are often covered in a green glaze that has developed a slight iridescence from prolonged burial. The Eastern Han was an unsettled period and these structures may represent the kind of fortified towers in which landowners and their families sought refuge during times of warfare and social turmoil. The balustrades and bracketing system of the roofs illustrate some basic elements of the Chinese architectural tradition during the first centuries of the common era.
label: Provenance
content: To 1907
label: Provenance
content: Unidentified owner, China, to 1907 [1]
label: Provenance
content: From 1907 to 1919
label: Provenance
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased in China from an unidentified owner in 1907 [2]
label: Provenance
content: From 1920
label: Provenance
content: Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]
label: Provenance
content: Notes:
label: Provenance
content: [1] See Original Pottery List, L. 1532, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.
label: Provenance
content: [2] See note 1.
label: Provenance
content: [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.
label: Collection
content: Freer Gallery of Art Collection
label: Exhibition History
content: Connecting Stories at the National Museum of Asian Art (April 29, 2023 - ongoing)
label: Exhibition History
content: Palaces and Pavilions: Grand Architecture in Chinese Painting (September 29, 2002 to March 30, 2003)
label: Exhibition History
content: Chinese Ceramics (March 15, 1982 to July 10, 1986)
label: Exhibition History
content: Chinese Art (March 9, 1981 to March 12, 1982)
label: Exhibition History
content: Chinese Ceramics (May 9, 1980 to March 6, 1981)
label: Exhibition History
content: Chinese Ceramics (April 11, 1978 to September 4, 1980)
label: Exhibition History
content: Chinese Calligraphy and Ceramics (April 18, 1977 to April 8, 1978)
label: Exhibition History
content: Chinese Art (January 1, 1963 to March 6, 1981)
label: Exhibition History
content: Special Exhibition, Chinese Art, 1946 (August 7, 1946 to January 7, 1947)
label: Exhibition History
content: Chinese Panels and Han Pottery (February 25, 1925 to July 19, 1943)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
place: label: Origin
content: China
topic: label: Topic
content: iridescence
label: Topic
content: ceramic
label: Topic
content: Eastern Han dynasty (25 - 220)
label: Topic
content: tower
label: Topic
content: China
label: Topic
content: earthenware
label: Topic
content: copper-green lead glaze
label: Topic
content: Chinese Art
label: Topic
content: Charles Lang Freer collection
setName: label: On View
content: East Building (Arthur M. Sackler Gallery), Gallery 26: Connecting Stories at the National Museum of Asian Art
label: Related Online Resources
content: Google Arts & Culture
label: See more items in
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Charles Lang Freer
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: F1907.68a-d
objectType: label: Type
content: Model
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Earthenware with copper-green lead-silicate glaze
label: Dimensions
content: H x W: 84.4 x 44 cm (33 1/4 x 17 5/16 in)