Chinese Green-Glazed Pottery Granary (Cang)
Western Han Dynasty, Mid to Late Western Han Period
A rare green-glazed pottery granary (cang), of cylindrical form raised on three short feet and covered overall in a lustrous olive-green lead glaze. The vessel is surmounted by a parasol-shaped cover centered by a circular aperture, with six raised ribs radiating from the summit and extending down the shoulder. The projecting eaves shelter the storage chamber below, faithfully imitating the architectural features of full-sized granaries used in ancient China. Areas of silvery iridescence and “fly-wing” surface alteration are visible on the glaze, the result of long-term burial. The underside is unglazed, exposing the buff earthenware body and traces of firing supports.
The form derives from ancient Chinese granaries used for storing grain. The Eastern Han scholar Xu Shen recorded in the Shuowen Jiezi: “Cang, gu cang ye. Cang huang qu er cang zhi, gu wei zhi cang” (“A cang is a place where grain is stored. Grain is harvested and stored when it turns yellow and ripe; therefore it is called a cang.”). In agricultural China, the granary represented abundance, security, and family prosperity, making it one of the most meaningful architectural forms reproduced in funerary art.
Pottery granaries were among the most important mingqi (spirit objects) placed in Han Dynasty tombs. Rather than serving a practical purpose, they embodied the ancient funerary belief of “serving the dead as one serves the living” (shi si ru shi sheng). Miniature ceramic models of granaries, wells, stoves, mills, livestock pens, and houses were interred with the deceased to provide for their needs in the afterlife. At the same time, such objects expressed the living family's wishes for abundance, prosperity, and freedom from want for future generations.
The custom of burying pottery granaries can be traced back to Qin tombs of the Eastern Zhou period in the Guanzhong region. Following the establishment of the Han Dynasty, these models became increasingly widespread and eventually developed into one of the most characteristic categories of Han funerary objects. Granaries are found throughout Han tombs across northern and central China and frequently appear as part of larger ceramic assemblages depicting agricultural estates and daily life.
According to Huang Kuan’s Research on Han Dynasty Pottery Granaries Excavated in the Luoyang Region, particularly the Chronological Table of Han Pottery Granaries Excavated from Han Tombs in the Luoyang Area, granaries with circular bodies and covers in the form of pointed hat-shaped is characteristic of the middle to late Western Han period. The present example, with its cylindrical body, three-legged support, and ribbed parasol-shaped cover, closely corresponds to this type and is therefore best dated to the middle or late Western Han Dynasty.
{H 10 1/4 x Diameter 8 inches (25.4 x 20.32 cm)}.
绿釉陶仓
西汉中晚期
一件罕见的绿釉陶仓（仓），圆筒形器身，下承三足，通体施莹润橄榄绿色铅釉。顶部覆伞形仓盖，中央开圆形孔口，六道凸棱自盖顶向四周放射，并延伸至肩部。宽阔外挑的檐部覆盖下方仓体，忠实再现了中国古代实用粮仓的建筑形制。釉面局部可见银白色虹彩及返铅形成的银化光泽，为长期埋藏过程中铅釉发生自然风化所形成。器底无釉，露浅黄色陶胎，并可见烧造时支烧痕迹。
此类器物源自中国古代储藏粮食的粮仓。东汉许慎《说文解字》载：“仓，谷藏也。仓黄取而藏之，故谓之仓。” 意即粮食成熟变黄后收获贮藏，因此称“仓”。在以农业为本的中国社会，粮仓象征着丰收、富足、安定与家族兴旺，因此成为古代墓葬艺术中最具象征意义的建筑模型之一。
陶仓是汉代墓葬中最重要的明器（冥器）之一，其功能并非实用，而是体现了中国古代“事死如事生”的丧葬观念。墓主人下葬时，常随葬陶制仓、井、灶、磨、畜栏、房屋等模型，以满足亡者来世生活所需；与此同时，这些器物也寄托着生者对于家族丰饶富庶、子孙绵延、衣食无忧的美好祝愿。
陶仓随葬的传统最早可追溯至关中地区东周时期秦墓。汉代建立之后，此类明器迅速普及，并逐渐发展成为汉代墓葬最具代表性的器类之一。陶仓广泛见于中国北方及中原地区的汉墓中，常与陶屋、陶井、陶灶、陶磨、家畜模型等共同组成完整的庄园生活场景，再现了汉代农业社会的经济形态与日常生活。
据黄宽《洛阳地区出土汉代陶仓研究》，尤其是《洛阳地区汉墓出土汉代陶仓编年表》所示，圆筒形仓身、覆尖帽状（伞形）仓盖的陶仓，为西汉中晚期的典型器形。本件陶仓圆筒形器身，下承三足，覆六棱伞形仓盖，与该类型特征高度一致，因此年代应定于西汉中晚期。
高10 1/4英寸，直径8英寸（约25.4 × 20.3厘米）。
For condition report, please contact the Asian Art Department.
