Soul urn (hunping)

Unknown (Chinese)


Item type:
vessel
Date of creation:
3rd-4th century
Height:
44.0 cm  (17 5/16 in.)
Technique / Medium:
porcelainized grès with pigments
Place of creation:
Shangyu (Zhongguo)
School:
Six Dynasties

    Item location

  • Museo d'Arte Orientale (Torino)
    Meidaozhai Collection[Museum inv. no.: K 4]

Description

Soul urns (hunping) are among the most characteristic objects of the Six Dynasties period. They included birds and other auspicious animals, immortals and various characters (orators, musicians, acrobats) represented in the circle around the shoulder of the urn. Among the instruments represented here, only a pipa is recognizable.

Instruments [MIMO Code] (notes)

Pipa [3413]

RIdIM images


Bibliographic references

Santarelli, Cristina. "The “Meidaozhai” Chinese art collection of the Giovanni Agnelli Foundation Turin", Music in Art 30/1-2 (2005) 239-243. RILM 2005-7128.

RIdIM record id

3087