Title
Dog
Year/Period
Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 CE)
Region
China
Dimension
Object size: H19.8 x W23.0 x D9.0 cm
Accession No.
1992-01285
Collection of
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Annie Wee
This green-glazed dog served as burial ware or ‘mingqi'. The piece moulded in two parts has a double harness - one circles the neck and the other around the body joined at the nape of the neck by a large metal ring. The protective stance and fierce expression indicate it may have been a tomb guardian.The practice of using lead-glazed burial wares had already started during the Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE) and it continued into the Ming period. The custom of burying objects with the deceased stems from the belief in life after death.
