Funerary Urn (Hunping)
Unknown Artist
late 200s CE
Medium
green-glazed stoneware with molded and sculpted decoration
Dimensions
h. 52.1 cm · diam. 28.8 cm
Classification
Ceramic
Department
Chinese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund
Accession Number
1988.21
About this artwork
Green-glazed stoneware developed greater variety in the south after the Han dynasty. Large funerary urns known as hunping, or "the urn of the soul," are evidence for its prolific production. This type of urn features multistoried towers populated by human figures, animals, and birds. It was likely associated with the southern funerary tradition of "summons of the soul." The wandering soul of the deceased was summoned to return. The urn with architectural designs (sometimes with grains placed ins...