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Mastiff (Tomb Figurine)
Unrecorded artistEastern Han dynasty (A.D. 25–220), 2nd century
- Attribution
- China
- Medium
- Brick-red earthenware with green lead glaze
- Physical dimensions
- H.: 32.3 cm (12 3/4 in.)
- Credit line
- Gift of Russell Tyson
CATALOGUE RECORD
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Source rights statement: Public domain
View the museum record ↗From the museum
Tomb models such as this alert watchdog reflect an increasingly humanistic and mundane view of the afterlife. Its compact, hollow earthenware body has been molded in two halves, joined lengthwise along the head, chest, back, and rump. The lead glaze, colored green by the addition of copper oxide, has decomposed into thin layers that reflect light with silvery iridescence.
Description: Art Institute of Chicago · CC BY 4.0