Cleveland Museum of Art

Panel from Model Cooking Stove: Raven Flanked by Snake-Entwined Tortoises

Date

100–1 BCE

Medium

earthenware with impressed relief decoration

Culture

China, from a tomb in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, Western Han dynasty (206 BCE–8 CE)

Department

Chinese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Han dynasty tombs were often furnished with grave goods to provide the deceased with items for the afterlife. Four earthenware panels were made in molds and then joined together to make a miniature model of a stove, which was placed in a burial chamber. The four sides show the animals of the cardinal directions. Two snake-entwined turtles designate the north, and here flank an archway that simulates the opening for fueling the stove. Above the arch perches a raven, which is identified with the sun, perhaps depicted here to denote the heat issuing from the false opening.

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