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Greenware huzi, or male chamber pot, in the form of a tiger
- loan
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Details
- Associated place
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Asia › China › Zhejiang province › Yue kiln-sites (place of creation)
- Date
- 5th century AD (AD 401 - 500)
- Material and technique
- stoneware, hand-modelled, with incised and modelled decoration under a green glaze; handle hand-modelled and luted to the huzi with slip; unglazed base
- Dimensions
- 19.5 x 29.5 x 14.4 cm (height x width x depth)
- Material index
- Technique index
- Object type index
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container › vessel › toilet-vessel › chamber-pot,container › vessel › pot › chamber-pot,container › vessel › toilet-vessel › urinal
- No. of items
- 1
- Credit line
- Lent by the Sir Alan Barlow Collection Trust.
- Accession no.
- LI1301.346
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Further reading
University of Sussex, and Arts and Humanities Research Council, The Barlow Collection, supervised by Regina Krahl, Maurice Howard, and Aiden Leeves (Sussex: University of Sussex, 2006), no. C346
Glossary (4)
glaze, luted, slip, stoneware
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glaze
Vitreous coating applied to the surface of a ceramic to make it impermeable or for decorative effect.
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luted
The fusion of parts of ceramics using dilute clay slip.
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slip
A semi-fluid clay applied to a ceramic before glazing either to coat the surface or for decorative effect.
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stoneware
Ceramic material made of clay which is fired to a temperature of c.1200-1300⁰c and is often buff or grey in colour.
Location
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- currently in research collection
Objects are sometimes moved to a different location. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis. Contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular object on display, or would like to arrange an appointment to see an object in our reserve collections.
Publications online
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The Barlow Collection
Many smaller vessels of this type are known, with plain handle, which are slightly earlier in date; see, for example, a piece excavated from a tomb of AD 288, in Zhejiang jinian ci/Zhejiang Chronological Porcelain, Beijing, 2000, pl.125. The present type is extremely rare. The shape is in Chinese known as huzi (‘little tiger’).
The vessel is shaped like an animal, with hollow body, prominent haunches, and short legs with simply modelled paws. The head terminates in a cylindrical opening, which emerges from the wide open mouth. Eyes, ears and nose are clearly rendered, teeth simply indicated and fangs applied, and incised lines are indicating the mane. The tail extends into a large curved over-head handle formed of three twisted strands of clay. The spine is rendered by a raised band of clay. The yellowish-beige body is covered with a transparent, light green glaze which in places adheres in a deeper green layer with a strong crackle. The underside is largely free of glaze and the biscuit has partly fired a reddish tone.
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