During the Han dynasty, numerous earthenware vessels were specifically produced to accompany the deceased in the tomb. These objects, known as mingqi “spirit objects”, reproduced or evoked goods used in the world of the living and contributed to the creation of a funerary environment intended to symbolically ensure the continuity of existence in the afterlife. The forms of some of these vessels deliberately adopted the vocabulary of the prestigious ritual bronzes of earlier periods, translated into a material better suited to funerary production.
 
This example constitutes a remarkable testimony to Chinese funerary ceramics of the Han dynasty.
 
Impressive cylindrical jar of grey earthenware, raised on three short modelled feet and with a tall, slightly convex body terminating in a rounded shoulder and a very short neck with a circular opening.
 
The surface is articulated into four horizontal registers separated by groups of fine parallel raised bands, lending the vessel a particularly pronounced architectural character. The restraint of this decorative scheme, based on the repetition of horizontal bands and the monumentality of the form, is characteristic of certain funerary productions of the Han period.
 
The three feet, short and robust, are modelled in a relatively free manner and display decoration or relief elements now partially obscured by surface deposits. Their arrangement slightly elevates the vessel, following a formula inherited from ancient Chinese tripod vessels whose prototypes date back to the Bronze Age.
 
The jar retains a particularly expressive archaeological surface, combining the dark grey colour of the earthenware with substantial pale beige deposits and various encrustations, most likely resulting from prolonged burial. The interior, visible through the opening, reveals concentric marks left by the forming and finishing of the vessel walls.
 
Condition: Extensive traces of burial, deposits and encrustations throughout the surface, with wear and irregularities consistent with the age and archaeological nature of the object. A crack has been restored.