This pair of earthenware pillars served as burial ware or ‘mingqi'. The shafts of which have a bevelled edge at the mid section and they sit atop a wooden plinth. The head or capital of the pillar has a similar shape to the plinth below. The pillars are decorated with moulded designs with peacock-like birds and hunting scenes. The custom of burying objects with the deceased stems from the belief in life after death.
