Grey Pottery Burial Vase

Unearthed from the No.93 Han Tomb in Xupu town, Yizheng city under jurisdiction of Yangzhou city in 1981, this grey pottery burial vase is composed of four stories, the top story of which was crafted separately from the other three. With a five-spine roof, the round room on the top floor sits on a circular plate, under which is a floor of four symmetrical shrines, each housing one sitting statue with a servant standing beside and a bird erecting in front, head-raised towards the statue. The third floor from top has an open door in the front side, flanked by two towers with double-eave nine-spine roof. Four cylinder-shaped jars are placed in symmetry on this floor, among which there erect six standing statuettes wearing hats and robes with diagonal plackets and holding weapons in the right hand. The bottom floor is a cylinder base that has a smaller diameter in the middle than that of the two ends. Bricks with inscriptions meaning “Zhang Ping from Yu county, Guangling prefecture”, “July 10th, the seventh year of Emperor Yuankang’s reign” were found in the tomb where this burial vase was excavated.