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Roof-Tile End

Western Han dynasty (206 BCE–9 CE)
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
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].”

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 西汉 动物纹瓦当
  • Title: Roof-Tile End
  • Period: Western Han dynasty (206 BCE–9 CE)
  • Culture: China
  • Medium: Earthenware
  • Dimensions: D. 1 in. (2.5 cm); Diam. 5 5/8 in. (14.3 cm)
  • Classification: Ceramics
  • Credit Line: Lent by Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art