funerary urn

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Object Type: funerary urn
Museum number: PDF.204
Description: Pair of Longquan porcelain funerary urns. The vases have pale greyish green glaze. Vase A has a tiger and a small dog modelled on the upper section, a bird on the lid, and overlapping lotus petals on the lower half. Vase B has a dragon and a flaming pearl modelled on the upper section, a bird on the lid, and overlapping lotus petals on the lower half.
Cultures/periods: Southern Song dynasty
Production date: 12thC-13thC
Production place: Made in: Longquan (area)
Materials: porcelain
Ware: Longquan Ware
Technique: glazed
Dimensions: Height: 252 millimetres
Curator's comments: Published PDF date : Southern Song 12th-13thC; Room 95 label text: PDF 204 Pair of funerary urns with applied animals These funerary urns are decorated with two ‘animals of the four directions’, called 'siling 四靈' in Chinese. The White Tiger of the West is pursuing a dog and the Green Dragon of the East is chasing a flaming pearl. The birds on the covers may allude to the Red Bird of the South; but the symbol of the north, a tortoise with a snake, is not present. In China, artists decorated coffins and tombs with these creatures from the Han dynasty (206 BC–AD 220) onwards. These jars stored provisions for the afterlife such as grain and are part of local southern burial practice. Stoneware, porcelain-type, with carved and applied decoration and celadon glaze Longquan ware 龍泉窯 Longquan region, Zhejiang province 浙江省, 龍泉地區 Southern Song dynasty, AD1127–1279; PDF 204 青釉貼花龍虎尊（一對）此對龍虎尊器身分飾中國傳統四靈中的二靈裝飾，即西方白虎追犬及東方青龍戲珠。器蓋上的鳥可能象徵南方朱雀，但北方玄武，即龜及蛇的形象卻沒有體現。中國在漢代之前（西元前206-西元220年），棺槨及墓葬經常以這些靈獸作為裝飾。此類器物用於存儲糧食，如穀物等，以供逝者在陰間所用。這是一種具有南方地區風格的葬俗。炻器，属廣義瓷器，刻花，貼花，青釉龍泉窯浙江省龍泉地區南宋，1127-1279年
Bibliographic references: Pierson 1997 / Illustrated Catalogue of Celadon Wares in the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art (p.20, no.204); Medley 1977 / Illustrated Catalogue of Celadon Wares in the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art (pp 17-18, no.36); Krahl & Harrison-Hall 2009 / Chinese Ceramics: Highlights of the Sir Percival David Collection (pp 44-45, no.18); Pierson 2002 / Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art: A Guide to the Collection (p.48, no.27); Scott 1989b / Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art: A Guide to the Collection (p.57, no.44); Medley 1975 / Volume 7: Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art (Monochrome pl. 39); Pierson 2001 / Designs as Signs: Decoration and Chinese Ceramics (p. 65, no. 60)
Location: On display (G95/dc52/s4)
Department: Asia
Registration number: PDF.204

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