Painted large disk with cloud and phoenix patterns

[Painted Cloud and Phoenix Pattern Large Disk]

Painted Cloud and Phoenix Pattern Large Disk, Western Han Dynasty, height 3.7 cm, caliber 44.1 cm, foot diameter 38 cm
This plate was unearthed in the tomb of the Western Han Dynasty at No. 2, Gaotai, Jiangling, Jingzhou. The plate is made of thick wood, which is cut out of a whole board. It has an open mouth, a round lip, a shallow belly, a flat bottom, and a low ring foot. The bottom of the plate is painted with black paint, and it is divided into three circles by a broad band of red paint. The inner circle and outer circle are painted with a cloud and phoenix pattern with a theme of red paint. The center of the inner circle is painted with a three-headed conjoined deformed phoenix pattern with a cloud and phoenix pattern. The cloud phoenix is composed of interconnected spiral cloud patterns, dotted with red dots and curves, and each cloud phoenix has a deformed phoenix pattern painted on its head. The cloud and phoenix patterns on the outer circle are the same as those on the inner circle. The inner and outer walls of the middle circle and the plate are painted with triangular deformed phoenix patterns, which continuously form a decorative band. The surface of the plate is decorated with repeated water wave clip dots. The outer wall of the panel is painted with black paint, and the outer bottom edge is painted with the word “Li” in red paint
The composition of this plate has the distinctive characteristics of the Western Han Dynasty lacquerware decoration. From the perspective of the unearthed Western Han Dynasty lacquerware, the theme decoration of many implements mostly reflects the natural phenomenon of the blending of heaven and earth, and most of the paintings are dotted with a kind of deformed phoenix symbol (bird head pattern), and the symbol is painted and decorated at the intersection of the wall or decoration to form a whole picture.