roof tile ornament: glazed ceramic w/ modeled Phoenix perched on curved tile. conventional form: beaked head w/ comb and mane w/ incised lines; feathers represented by incised herring-bone patterns; tail on tile base. back of tile has small curved projecting joint rest. Ochre 'Imperial-yellow' glaze covers upper surface. two large, and many small chips. underside unglazed; mortar and brick fragments adhere to rim. inscription in ink in English.* imprinted mark of double gourd. h. 28.5 cm., L. 24 cm., W. 15 cm.
Donor:
Design Department (UC Berkeley)
Collection place:
Beijing, Beijing municipality, Northern China
Verbatim coll. place:
China, Hopei Province, Peking
Collector:
Albert M. Bender
Collection date:
before 1933
Materials:
Ceramic (material), Glaze (coating by location), and Ocher (pigment)
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Phoenixes
Function:
4.2 Public Buildings and Furnishings
Accession date:
1974
Context of use:
roof ornament. tile ornaments such as this were placed single file down the ridge of the eaves. *Ink inscription on underside reads: "M.A.C. Found by Mrs. J. Cooper just below the Altar of Heaven in Peking China. This formed one of the corners and represents the Imperial bird, the Phoenix." Note: the Altar of Heaven is circular, thus w/o ridge, and the tiles are blue, on all buildings in the compound. however most roofs in the 'Forbidden City' are yellow, and adorned w/ similar ante-fixes.
Department:
Asia (except western Russia)
Dimensions:
height 28.5 centimeters, width 15 centimeters, and length 24 centimeters