Interesting pottery object which served as funerary money called Yi Qian ((瘗钱), meaning ‘burial money’ also known as ‘dark money’ (Ming Qian-冥钱). Chinese people used to include money among the objects buried with the deceased. Unfortunately, the custom of burying money attracted grave robbers. To minimize the chances that a tomb would be desecrated, the custom of including real money was changed and often imitation money instead of real money was used. Funerary objects such as the one in our collection are often wrongly considered as plates of food in the Western world when in fact they are pottery imitations of disk-shaped gold ingots (陶质 ‘金饼’). They are rare objects and what makes them special is that they often show the thumb prints of their makers which were left after the clay was pressed into a mold. This one dates from the Han period (206 BC - 220 AD). The glaze has degraded over time. Diameter 6.2 cm. Thickness 2.4 cm.