Cladding tile
Gallery Location
Gallery of Chinese Architecture
Medium
Moulded earthenware
Geography
Probably from near Anyang, Henan province, China
Date
7th century AD
Period
Tang Dynasty
Dimensions
58 x 41 x 10 cm
Object number
921.31.32
Credit Line
The George Crofts Collection; gift of Mr. D.A. Dunlap
Cataloguer
Patricia Proctor
ROM Staff 1971-2015
Collection
Department
Art & Culture: China
Description
Most Chinese architecture featured wood construction, but Buddhist pagodas were generally made of brick or stone. They contained relics, but also served to mark a temple, as church towers do in the West.
These relief tiles are part of the nearly 4000 tiles which covered a pagoda near Anyang. They were shaped in moulds, using 72 different designs. The diamond-shaped tiles are the most numerous and varied.
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