Hollow Tile: Lintel from Tomb-Chamber Doorway
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
100–200 CE
This object is a hollow earthenware tile originating from China during the Han dynasty, dated to between 100 and 200 CE. Measuring an overall length of 137.2 cm (54 in.), it originally functioned as a lintel for an underground doorway leading into a tomb chamber.
The tile was produced in earthenware using a die-stamped relief technique. Its surface features structured architectural bands filled with stamped patterns, including scroll-like motifs and rows of raised beads along its elongated form. The full doorway composition, echoing post-and-lintel timber architecture, incorporates stamped imagery of striding tigers along the top, racing horsemen along the right column, and reverent officials on the left column.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Historical context
By the first century CE, Chinese tomb construction transitioned from earlier tombs built with rammed-earth walls to durable chambers lined with decorated bricks and tiles. These underground tombs were furnished with ceramic models of servants, pets, houses, and stoves to provide comforts for the afterlife.
Physical characteristics
- Material
- earthenware, die-stamped relief
- Dimensions
- Overall: 137.2 cm (54 in.)
Technical characteristics
- Culture recorded
- China, Han dynasty (202 BCE–220 CE)
Identification
- Source note
- Transcribed from the Cleveland Museum of Art collection record for this single object; how far it represents a wider collectible type has not been independently verified.
- Museum object name
- Hollow Tile: Lintel from Tomb-Chamber Doorway
- Museum object number
- 1915.69
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.