URN FOR THE SOUL (HUNPING)

Description The urn was worked on the lathe and then decorated with applied elements, each individually shaped to represent all-round figurines. The whole thing was then covered with a fairly uniform glaze that stops a few centimeters above the base. Above the shoulder the vase is encircled by a collar that supports a large group of figures, including two Buddhas and animals. The second level of decorations - at the bottom of the fake lid - features four jars surrounded by a multitude of fluttering birds. The top features a model of an architectural complex. The elaborate iconography of these types of symbolic vessels is revealing of the syncretism that appears to permeate the funera rituals of the Lower Yangzi Region in the 3rd century CE. Buddhist images are associated with the traditional iconography of good wishes, intended to protect the soul of the deceased.