Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Model of a Multistory House
Eastern Han dynasty (25–220)
Not on view
Comprising thirty-one detachable parts, this architectural model consists of a seven-story main building and a four-story auxiliary building, with a sky bridge connecting the two. A figure carrying a sack of crops enters from the left, while a recumbent watchdog guards the storage complex to the right of the gate. Designed in a funerary context to emulate a full-scale structure, this model hints at the architectural capabilities of the Eastern Han. Multistory buildings were a considerable feat of engineering, and such models may have been deposited in tombs to symbolize the enduring status and power of the deceased.
#217. Model of a multi-storied house
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