Farm Shed with Grain Mill

Discussion

FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

This humble-looking burial model illustrates two notable inventions in engineering and architecture that were in used widely during the Han dynasty. The rotary mill, worked by a pedal-operated hammer, was used to prepare grain for flour. The shed that encloses it has a deeply overhanging tile roof supported by a wood column with projecting bracket arms. This type of bracketing, which transferred the weight of the roof to the column, became an increasingly important feature of later Chinese buildings.

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