Lot 162a, Auction 4/3/2026: Massive Chinese Han Brick Tomb Tile, Zoomorph Motifs

$1,300.00

In stock

East Asia, China, Han Dynasty, ca. 216 BCE to 220 CE. A massive low-fired, hollow, box-shaped pottery tile from a brick tomb, likely made as a decorative architectural element for a wall or doorway. The long faces are impressed with repeating diamond bands framing a procession of sacred zoomorphic figures – phoenixes, tigers, and horses – stamped and incised across the surface. One narrow end is fully open while the opposite end retains two broad circular perforations, and the stamping on all other faces suggests it was intended to be seen in the round rather than set completely flush into masonry. A Han brick tomb is an underground chamber built from stamped or molded clay bricks, often laid to form a rectangular or arched room, the walls sometimes include niches. Families commissioned these bricks from workshops where they were molded and decorated, then transported to the burial site, with their hollow construction and mounting holes shaped for easy handling and installation. Size: 48″ L x 5.5″ W x 20″ H (121.9 cm x 14 cm x 50.8 cm)

Condition: Chips and abrasions to all faces. Small 2 inch piece reattached, but otherwise great condition. Mineral and earthen encrustations.

Provenance: private Colorado, USA collection

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