The tradition of painted tomb pottery went into a decline with the beginning of the Bronze Age, and although there are sporadic examples during the subsequent periods, it is not until the Han dynasty that this is revived on a large scale. Painted vessels are generally made of terracotta fired to differing degrees of hardness at temperatures varying from 800’C to just over 1000’C. At the low end, the clay body can be brownish in tone, whereas high-fired examples can be almost black in color, with a much more resonant tone when tapped. Vessels of circular section such as the "Hu" ewer or the tripod censers appear to be thrown on the wheel, with moulded decorative elements such as animal mask ring handles or bear-shaped feet applied afterwards. The pot is generally covered with a coating of white lime or slip after firing before being painted in a variety of colors. White slip renders the overlying colors more brilliant. The commonest colors are black and red, although all the bright pigments seen in terracotta figurines of the period can also be found in painted pottery, including pastel purple, green, blue, pink, orange, and mustard yellow, all of which have a bright "acidic" quality hard to imitate.

Most of the forms are derivatives of bronzes, harking back to the practice of the Warring States period when pottery surrogates of ritual bronzes became popular as burial items. However, the Han shapes are much more limited, the most ubiquitous being the "Hu" or ewer, a wine storage vessel of slightly flattened spherical form on a splayed foot, the body continuing into a gently flaring neck and mouth, made with or without a cover. Also seen is the covered tripod Ding, a food offering vessel, the Fang Hu, a square-sectioned form of the Hu, large platters and basins, bowls, the cylindrical tripod Zun with cover, also a wine vessel, the Yen, a food steamer, oval "ear-cups", ladles, round, and rarely, oblong boxes, and occasionally, Buoshanlu censers. Rare archaeological finds include two Hu supported on the wings of a mythical bird excavated in Shandong in 1969, and two owl-shaped vessels from Ningxia reminiscent of the zoomorphic vessels of the Shang.

While forms are generally those found in bronze, decoration appears much more related to that of lacquer vessels of the period. The Chu kingdom of the Yangtse River valley during the Warring States period was famous for their lacquered vessels, and by the Han dynasty, lacquer had replaced bronze as the material of choice for luxury items. These were commonly painted with cloud and dragon scrolls, as well as completely abstract patterns. Rarely, animal and human figures, hunting scenes, and mythical scenes are found. This is the decorative idiom used on painted pottery, animal and human subjects being equally rare. A tripod Zun excavated in 1963 from a Luoyang tomb shows seated, white-robed figures, and a Hu in the Henan Provincial Museum is painted with a tiger and phoenix (directional animals) with strokes of great vitality that indicate mature use of the brush as a painting instrument.

Pigment on these vessels is often powdery, and rubs off easily unless fixed soon after excavation, while a different painted treatment curls and flakes when dry. Thus, conservation of such vessels can be a problem. However, if this can be overcome, these Han painted vessels are some of the most beautiful artifacts left to us from that period.

A.Hwang