Door frame tile with elephant from the "Porcelain Pagoda"
Ming dynasty (1368–1644), Yongle period (1403–24)
Not on view
To commemorate his parents, the Yongle emperor (reigned 1403–24) commissioned the construction of the Proclaiming Grace Temple (Bao’en si) in Nanjing. The "Porcelain Pagoda," a nine-story structure some 260 feet tall and surfaced in colorful glazed ceramic tiles, was the temple’s most prominent landmark. The tower was destroyed in 1856 during the Taiping Rebellion, and only fragments such as this elephant tile have survived.
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