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Roof-Tile End

Western Han dynasty (206 BCE–9 CE)

Not on view

Tile ends inscribed with characters, in particular auspicious phrases such as chang sheng wu ji, or “long life without end,” became popular during the Han dynasty. Such phrases could occur in combination with the name of the office or palace on which the tiles appeared. Of the present group of five, one bears the words lai gu gong dang, or “tile of the Laigu Palace.” Another, used at Yuyang Palace, reads yu yang qian sui, or “one thousand years of (i.e., long live) the Yuyang [Palace].”

Roof-Tile End, Earthenware, China — Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

西汉 “来谷宫当”铭瓦当

Title: Roof-Tile End

Period: Western Han dynasty (206 BCE–9 CE)

Culture: China

Medium: Earthenware

Dimensions: D. 1 5/8 in. (4.1 cm); Diam. 6 5/16 in. (16 cm)

Classification: Ceramics

Credit Line: Lent by Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology

Accession Number: SL.1.2017.24.27

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Asian Art at The Met

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world.