A VERY LARGE RARE GREY STONEWARE HUMAN-HEADED PILLAR

Han Dynasty

Han Dynasty
The hollow rectangular pillar with two canted corners, moulded with panel of stylised foliate and archaic motifs, surmounted by a crouching human headed figure, the arms held together at the front and legs tucked in at the sides. 123cm (48 1/2in) high.

漢 石雕人像柱

Provenance: a distinguished UK Private collection, according to the owner the pillar has been in their collection from circa 1975

來源：英國傑出私人收藏，據稱於約1975年入藏

The present pillar would have been positioned before the entrance to a multi-chambered underground burial belonging to a high-ranking member of the Han dynasty. The various scenes of entertainment, parades, protective guardians and mythical figures formed part of an elaborate setting aimed at sustaining the tomb occupant in their afterlife. The ancestors in China were believed to be active participants to the life of their living offspring, which they could positively influence if provided with continuous nourishment and all the right necessities for their afterlife existence. A miniature universe was thus presented to the tomb occupant in the form of multi-chambered burials, constructed underground, which mimicked the large estate inhabited by the owner before death. These included parades of officials entering the gate, banqueting and hunting scenes, reception halls, musical scenes. Heavenly realms were also part of this elaborate settings and normally depicted in the form of spirits riding clouds, unusual birds and the four animals, symbolising the four quadrants of the sky and earth; see J.Rawson, 'The Eternal Palaces of the Western Han: A New View of the Universe' in Artibus Asiae, vol.59, 1999, pp.5-58; see also ibid., 'Creating Universes: Cultural Exchange as Seen in Tombs in Northern China Between the Han and Tang Periods', in Between Han and Tang. Cultural and Artistic Interactions in a Transformative period, Beijing, 2001, pp.113-152.

Compare with a nearly identical stoneware pillar, first century AD, in the British Museum, London, illustrated by S.Vainker, Chinese Pottery and Porcelain: From Prehistory to the Present, London, 1991, p.46, fig.33.