Hollow tomb brick with stamped designs
Hollow tomb brick with stamped designs
Hollow tomb brick with stamped designs
Hollow tomb brick with stamped designs

On view

Asian Art
Huo Pavilion

Hollow tomb brick with stamped designs

Chinese
Western Han dynasty, 206 BCE–9 CE
2006-25
As early as the Western Han period (206 b.c.–a.d. 9), hollow bricks were used for the construction of tombs in the area of present-day Henan province in eastern China. They were used to build walls, columns, floors, and ceilings for small and medium-sized tombs, providing a more durable structure than perishable wood. The bricks, made from gray clay, were formed in large molds. While the surface of each brick was still leather-hard, designs were imprinted into its face using raised relief stamps

Information

Title
Hollow tomb brick with stamped designs
Medium
Earthenware with stamped designs
Dimensions
Overall: 113.6 cm. h (44 3/4 in.) x ca. 46.0 cm. w (18 1/8 in.) x ca.12.5 cm. d (4 15/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Richard and Ruth Dickes, in honor of Wen C. Fong, Class of 1951 and Graduate School Class of 1958, and Constance Tang Fong
Object Number
2006-25
Place Made

Asia, China

Culture
Chinese
Type
architectural elements
Materials
earthenware
Techniques
stamping (marking)
Subject
brick, stamping (marking), tombs

– Flores & Iva (New York, NY), sold to Richard and Ruth Dickes (Morristown, NJ).

–2006 Richard and Ruth Dickes (Morristown, NJ), by gift to the Princeton University Art Museum, 2006.

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