Late Western Han dynasty/Lacquered wood
Lacquer grinding box with immortals, clouds and mythical beasts
A wooden lacquer grinding box of the late Western Han dynasty, decorated with mythical beasts and scrolling clouds. Excavated in 1985 from Tomb 101 at Yaozhuang, Ganquan Town, Yangzhou, Jiangsu. Now in Yangzhou Museum.
Huang Songtao (Songfa) · CC BY 4.0
Huang Songtao (Songfa) · CC BY 4.0
Huang Songtao (Songfa) · CC BY 4.0
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- Name
- Lacquer grinding box with immortals, clouds and mythical beasts
- Period
- Late Western Han dynasty
- Material
- Lacquered wood
- Dimensions
- Length 19.5 cm; width 6.8 cm; thickness 1.6 cm
- Collection
- Yangzhou Museum
- Findspot
- Excavated in 1985 from Tomb 101 at Yaozhuang, Ganquan Town, Yangzhou, Jiangsu
- Text by
- 黄松涛（松松發文物君） / Huang Songtao
- Photography
- 黄松涛（松松發文物君） / Huang Songtao
- Photography equipment
- Hasselblad X2D 100C · XCD 4/45P
Description
This wooden lacquer grinding box dates to the late Western Han dynasty. Rectangular with cut corners, it consists of a lid and a body. The exterior has a brown lacquer ground. The lid is painted with flame-like scrolling clouds in fine, flowing lines, with mythical beasts among the cloud motifs. At one end of the lid is a raised circular panel decorated with clouds, while a continuous geometric pattern runs around the rim. The inside of the lid carries the same decoration as its exterior. The interior of the box is coated in vermilion lacquer and also has a border of cloud motifs. At one end is a shallow square recess, beside which lies a long, narrow recess containing a rectangular piece of dai, a black pigment stone, and a round grinding stone. Black marks remain in the recess. The box is a writing implement of the Han dynasty.
It measures 19.5 cm in length, 6.8 cm in width and 1.6 cm in thickness. Excavated in 1985 from Tomb 101 at Yaozhuang, Ganquan Town, Yangzhou, Jiangsu, it bears the object number M101:26 and is held by Yangzhou Museum.
Published