Skip to main content

Tile: C.2-1968

An image of Tile

Terms of use

These images are provided for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons License (BY-NC-ND). To license a high resolution version, please contact our image library who will discuss fees, terms and waivers.

Download this image

Creative commons explained - what it means, how you can use our's and other people's content.

Alternative views

Object information

Current Location: Gallery 28 - Arts of Asia Gallery

Maker(s)

Maker: Unknown

Entities

Categories

Description

Unglazed grey earthenware tomb tile, which originally faced the interior or a Han brick tomb. With impressed and incised designs of a winged horse and a tree in which a bird perches. Above the horse, another slightly different winged creature hovers. The tile still has traces of red, white and light yellow paint, and also in the upper left hand corner of the tree a wooden stamp impression remains.

According to William White, a lute made from the wood of the Wu t'ung tree would cure the sick, quiet the restles spirit, and draw the fairies and phoenixes to the music. Down through the ages coffins made of its wood ensured peace of the departed spirit. The bird in the tree is perhaps a phoenix, for this bird of good omen would only rest in the Wu t'ung tree.

Notes

History note: Probably from the area of Qincun, Loyang in Henan.

Legal notes

Bequeathed by Mrs Walter Sedgwick through National Art Collections Fund

Measurements and weight

Height: 40.6 cm
Length: 44.4 cm

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1968-02-01) by Sedgwick, Walter, Mrs

Dating

Han Dynasty (BC 206 - AD 220)
Circa -0202 - -0220

Components of the work

Decoration

Materials used in production

Paint
Earthenware

Techniques used in production

Unglazed

References and bibliographic entries

Related exhibitions

Identification numbers

Accession number: C.2-1968
Primary reference Number: 17472
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Thursday 26 November 2020 Last processed: Friday 8 December 2023

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Tile" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/17472 Accessed: 2024-03-28 13:01:29

Citation for Wikipedia

To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:

{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/17472 |title=Tile |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-03-28 13:01:29|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

API call for this record

To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:

https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-17472

Bootstrap HTML code for reuse

To use this as a simple code embed, copy this string:

<div class="text-center">
    <figure class="figure">
        <img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/aa/aa20/C_2_1968.jpg"
        alt="Tile"
        class="img-fluid" />
        <figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Tile</figcaption>
    </figure>
</div>
    

More objects and works of art you might like

Moses' Receiving the Tables of the Law

Accession Number: C.2823.8-1928

Jael Killing Sisera

Accession Number: C.2823.19-1928

A Landscape with Buildings

Accession Number: C.2823.17-1928

Samson Rending the Lion

Accession Number: C.2823.41-1928

Suggested products from Curating Cambridge

You might be interested in this...

Sign up for updates

Updates about future exhibitions and displays, family activities, virtual events & news. You'll be the first to know...