roof-tile
- Museum number
- 1933,0317.2
- Description
-
Earthenware 'goutou' tile terminal with moulded decoration beneath a green glaze. This circular 'goutou' tile terminal has a raised border 2 cm wide and a relief-moulded dragon in the centre, covered with a much-worn bottle-green glaze. The dragon has a scaly body and paws with five flexed claws. It twists round, prancing on its front legs and turning its back legs under and over its tail. It is damaged along the lower edge and is missing its convex section.
- Production date
- 1366-1400 (circa)
- Dimensions
-
Diameter: 17.50 centimetres
- Curator's comments
- Harrison-Hall 2001:
Registration documents written in 1933 record this tile as being from the 'tombs of the first and second emperors of the Ming dynasty', east of Nanjing. In fact, the first emperor's tomb, the Xiaoling, is in Nanjing. The location of the second emperor, Jianwen, is unknown and the third emperor, Yongle, was buried in the Changling in Beijing. It is also possible that the tile comes from the Ming palace (see BM 1923.0514.2), built between 1366 and 1386 and occupied until 1420.
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 1933
- Department
- Asia
- Registration number
- 1933,0317.2
