In China, people made tomb figurines as replacements for real objects so that the deceased would enjoy their company or service in the afterlife.
National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution
This container was one of many that was used to hold wine, water, grain, or meat in sacrifices to ancestors or in ritual banquets by Shang kings.
Lidded ritual ewer
We can recognize from Gu Kaizhi's painting the emergence of Chinese landscape tradition.
Gu Kaizhi, Nymph of the Luo River
A single ladle can reveal a lot about the Han dynasty
Ladle
Bamboo is a very popular subject in Chinese painting, especially among scholar-artists like Ni Zan
Ni Zan, A branch of bamboo
Ceramic pillows became a popular domestic item among middle- and upper-class families during the Song dynasty
Ceramic pillow
Jian ware tea bowls were highly prized in China but seem to have gone out of fashion there, whereas the Japanese adopted them for use in tea ceremonies.
Bowl with “oil spot” glaze
Guan ware is probably one of the rarest and most admired types of Chinese ceramics in the present world.
Guan ware long-necked vase
As a result of endorsement and financial support from the imperial family, Buddhist art grew more and more sophisticated, as reflected by the meticulously carved scenes on this statue
Cosmic Buddha Vairochana with the Realms of ...
Chinese artisans produced plain perforated disks, but their origin and purpose is not entirely known.
Disk (bi) with knobs, feline, and dragon
Chinese stone funerary couches represent a rare type of burial furniture for the deceased
Base of a funerary couch
Representations of foreigners are often seen in Tang tomb figurines
Tomb figure of a groom
Zhou dynasty bronzes preserve one of the earliest forms of Chinese writing in their simple, highly pictographic inscriptions
Square lidded ritual wine container (fangyi)
Qin have for centuries been valued as a symbol of high culture by the Chinese elite class.
Zither (qin) inscribed with the name “Dragon’s ...
Chinese fabrics—typically silks—were traded widely and became one of the most popular goods on the Silk Road.
A Tang silk brocade
This type of Chinese bronze bell is called a bo and was a costly commission in terms of both material and labor—it weighs 140 lbs.
Bell (bo) with birds and dragons
A monumental limestone carving depicts a heavenly realm brimming with Buddhist deities.
Western Paradise of the Buddha Amitabha
The Qing dynasty, especially in the eighteenth century when the Qing empire was the largest and most prosperous in the world, saw prolific cultural and artistic achievements.
Qing dynasty (1644–1911), an introduction
From the end of the twentieth century to today, rapid improvements in the economy, increasing globalization, and growing status as a major political and military power have continued to significantly alter life, including in the cultural sphere, ensuring China’s place in the contemporary art field.
Modern China (1912–present), an introduction
Despite the short duration of the Yuan dynasty, it was an extremely vital period in the arts.
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