Granary (Cang) (Eastern Han dynasty (A.D. 25–220)): Artwork and History

Granary (Cang) (Eastern Han dynasty (A.D. 25–220)) is in the Art Institute of Chicago collection. The museum lists its creator attribution as China, probably Henan province.

The work and its context

The Art Institute of Chicago describes the work:

As burial practices filtered down from the Han aristocracy to officials and landowners, tomb models related to farming, an honored occupation, became increasingly popular. The granary, used to store millet, barley, and wheat, was depicted either as a jar or as a small building. The two-story granary found in southern Chinese tombs of the Western Han dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 9) was a wood or ceramic model elevated on stilts. By the Eastern Han dynasty, this rectangular structure had spread to northern China and was raised on legs that were formed as crouching bears, a convention common to Han art. The inscription painted on the door of this granary states that it was made for the tomb of a local official.

Object facts

• Title: Granary (Cang)
• Date: Eastern Han dynasty (A.D. 25–220)
• Artist attribution: China, probably Henan province
• Place of origin: China
• Medium: Brick-red earthenware with green lead glaze, carved and molded decoration
• Dimensions: 39.5 × 24 × 21.5 cm (15 9/16 × 9 7/16 × 8 7/16 in.)
• Type: Sculpture
• Department: Arts of Asia
• Reference number: 1924.238

Collection credit

Lucy Maud Buckingham Collection

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