Rectangular Jar with Lid
c. 800-700 BCE
Description
Rectangular container with two lug handles and four stumpy feet; rectangular lid slightly domed on top and concave underneath. Whereas the lid's dimensions are similar to those of the container, its appearance is different and it does not fit well, suggesting that it might not belong. The container is decorated with a zigzag pattern in turquoise glaze. Each side has a standing triangle raising from its base; these triangles are white with black dots. A yellow hanging triangle with turquoise dots extends over each corner. The rim and handles are covered in turquoise glaze, which also extends part of the way down on the interior of the container. The pierced handles are slim and rounded. In its current state, the container is composed of numerous fragments; break lines and losses are filled and inpainted. Fills are especially extensive on the upper rim and corners; one of the handles is modern, as well. The decoration on the lid consists of an hourglass and two triangles outlined in turquoise glaze on a white ground. The rim is lined in turquoise and each segment of the pattern contains turquoise dots. The lid is cracked and chipped.
Dimensions
12.4 x 9.6 x 9.3 cm (4 7/8 x 3 3/4 x 3 11/16 in.) Dimensions of container without lid: 11 cm (4 5/16 in.) Dimensions of lid: 1.4 x 8.4 x 9.2 cm (9/16 x 3 5/16 x 3 5/8 in.) Maximum wall thickness of lid: 1.1 cm (7/16 in.) Maximum wall thickness of container: 1.1 cm (7/16 in.)
Provenance
[Hadji Baba Rabbi House of Antiquities, Teheran, 1973], sold; to Stanford and Norma Jean Calderwood, Belmont, Massachusetts, (1973-2002), gift; to the Harvard Art Museums, 2002.
Related Artworks
View MoreSilver
18th centuryBritishTerracotta
16th-14th century BCEMycenaeanTerracotta
6th century BCEEtruscanSilver
18th centuryFrenchSoft-paste porcelain with colorless glaze over incised decoration
19th centuryChineseBlue-and-white ware: porcelaneous white stoneware with decoration painted in underglaze cobalt-blue
15th centuryVietnameseJian ware: dark gray stoneware with dark brown glaze enlivened with markings in overglaze iron-brown slip; the lip banded with metal. From the kilns at Shuiji, Jianyang county, Fujian province.
12th-13th centuryChineseFaience
6th century BCEGreekGrayish white jadeite with emerald green markings
18th-19th centuryChinese
Ceramic
20th centuryAmericanTerracotta
4th century BCEGreekReddish earthenware covered in white slip and painted with brownish black (chromium, iron, and manganese) and blue (cobalt) under clear alkali glaze
19th-20th century