A Glazed Terracotta Sheep's Pen Model

Eastern Han Dynasty, Sichuan Province, China, 25–220 CE Green-glazed terracotta model of a livestock enclosure created as a mingqi funerary object during the Eastern Han Dynasty. Detailed with walls, a roofed gate and stalls. The large open yard is a lively place with miniature sheep, attendants, and a cistern -an idealized vision of agricultural life intended to accompany the deceased into the afterlife. These models symbolized prosperity, self-sufficiency, and the importance of animal husbandry within Han rural society. The translucent green lead glaze, softened through centuries of burial, is characteristic of Han funerary ceramics and enhances the sculpture’s archaeological presence.