Stove with four spirit animals, Han Dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE)-China Archive

Image Number:C1A000911N000000000PAC
Dynamy:Han dynamity
Category:Bronzes
Function:Cooker
Material:Mineral/metal/bronze
Description:
Straight mouth, square bottom, quadrangle foot, The lower part is connected with a rounded rectangular bearing plate. The oval furnace body is decorated with four hollowed out gods: green dragon, Xuanwu, white tiger and rosefinch. The green dragon is opposite the white tiger and is on the long side, while Xuanwu and rosefinch are on the short side; The lower part is a hollow square seat, under which there are four legs in the shape of half squatting. The hands are bent and lifted up to carry the furnace, and the lower part is connected with the bearing plate. At the bottom of the plate, there is a small foot at each corner. There is an eight hole partition board in the furnace, which can be used to place burning charcoal or incense. The burned ash can fall into the hollow square seat through the square hole. When eating meat in the Han Dynasty, people often put ear cups on the copper stove to heat the sauce, and then put the meat into the sauce to cook. The sauce is called “dye”, and the utensils used are called “dyes”