Painted Pottery Ding in the Western Han Dynasty 

The Painted Pottery Ding is 24 centimeters in height,22 centimeters in diameter and 97 centimeters in weight.The tripod is made of gray clay.It is covered with a bowl-shaped cover,flat bottom and with flat column-shaped feet.The whole body is painted with three colors of gray,red and white of triangle pattern,dazzle pattern and pearl pattern.It looks colorful as new.The shape of the tripod is regular,dignified and elegant.

 

photo/ Henan Museum 

Painted pottery is a kind of pottery that is painted on the surface after the pottery is burned.The commonly used colors of painted pottery include red,black,yellow,white and ocher.There are three common background colors:black ground with ink,red ground with cinnabar or lead tetroxide.

The Qin and Han Dynasties were a prosperous period for the development of painted pottery.Painted pottery unearthed in tombs were often funerary articles in the shapes of pots,beans,plates,tripods,and zun(wine vessel).Most of them were painted in color with complex ornamental.

Painted pottery also laid the foundation for the appearance of painted porcelain.This painted pottery tripod is well preserved,well made,and brightly colored.It is a precious material for the study of the history of arts and crafts in the Han Dynasty.At the same time,this tripod is a scientific excavation with a precise era,and it is also an important basis for the study of the burial customs of the Western Han Dynasty.