Minneapolis Institute of Art

Roof tile end with dragon

China

Date: 206 BCE–9 CE
Medium: Earthenware
Department: Asian Art
Institution: Minneapolis Institute of Art

In ancient China, roof tiles were in the form of half-cylinders with circular ends. Those tiles along the eaves of the building were capped with decorated circular discs like this one. The dragon motif not only imbues the architecture of the building with an auspicious element is also associated with the four celestial guardians. As evidenced by archaeological finds, dragons were often used along with the Vermilion Bird, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise to represent the guardians of the four cardinal directions. Asia

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