"O Soul, Come Back!": The World of the Han Dynasty Tomb

"O Soul, Come Back!": The World of the Han Dynasty Tomb presents objects revealing ideas of the soul and its afterlife of the Chinese of the Han dynasty (206 B.C.E. to 220 C.E.).

Stone tomb doors, a glazed earthenware model of a four-story ornamented tower, painted earthenware figures of various sizes and types, and a ceramic jar bearing an inscription warding off ghosts are among the 55 items in the exhibition.

The title, from the early third-century (B.C.E.) poem "Summons of the soul," reflects the Han belief that the soul had two components, the "hun," which governed the intellect, and the "p'o," which ruled the physical being. Their separation from the body resulted in death.

Based on two seminars on the art of the Han dynasty taught at Columbia by Professor David A. Sensabaugh of the Department of Art History and Archaeology, the exhibition incorporates research by 28 students and was curated by Professor Sensabaugh. In designing the installation, he said, they endeavored to simulate the layout and environment of the tomb, which recreated the actual dwelling of the deceased and the functions of the household. "Ming-ch'i," models of people, animals and household objects, filled the tombs, which often had multiple chambers. By the end of the Han period, elaborate architectural models were also included to represent the wealth and land-holdings of the society's elite.

Most of the objects in the show are from the Central Yellow River Valley in northern China and range in date from Western or Former Han (206 B.C.E. to 8 C.E.) to Eastern or Later Han (25 to 220 C. E.). Two painted earthenware figures of entertainers, 9 and 7 inches in height, notable for their animated poses and expressions, originated in Sichuan province. The pair, probably storytellers of the late Han, says Professor Sensabaugh, illustrate the "tremendous sense of movement and motion carried in the silhouette" that characterized the art of the period. Revealing a similar sense of graceful animation is an early earthenware figure of a dancer from Xian, the capital region of the Western Han, known historically as Chang'an. A ceramic incense burner with green lead glaze is shaped to resemble the mythical mountain where spirits dwell. Smoke from burning incense would waft from holes in the domed lid, swirling around the monsters and rider on a horse at a flying gallop which embellish the exterior.

The objects on view are from the Sackler Collections and the Frank M. Michaelian Collection at Columbia and from Mr. and Mrs. Jerome H. Krieger, the Schloss Collection and Mr. J.C. Tan.