Amphora with flat base
VesselsChinese5th millennium BCE

Amphora with flat base

Miaodigou phase, c. 4000-3500 BCE

Description

Tall, elongated vessel with small, bell-shaped mouth, narrow neck, sloping shoulders, slightly rounded midsection, sides tapering inward to a flat, circular base, and two strap handles forming loops just below shoulders; reddish buff earthenware textured with abstract linear designs from neck to foot, created by combing and scraping the moist clay surface before firing; mottled with dark patches. Yangshao culture, Miaodigou type. From the upper or middle Yellow River valley regions, possibly Shaanxi or eastern Gansu province.

Classification
Vessels
Medium
Earthenware with incised and combed decoration
Culture
Chinese
Period
Neolithic period, Yangshao culture, c. 5000-3000 BCE
Century
5th millennium BCE
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Department
Department of Asian Art

Dimensions

H. 59.8 x W. 25 (across handles) x Diam. 20.5 cm (23 9/16 x 9 13/16 x 8 1/16 in.)

Provenance

[The Chinese Porcelain Company, New York, 2002] sold; to Walter C. Sedgwick Foundation, Woodside, CA (2002-2006), partial gift; to Harvard University Art Museums, 2006.

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Amphora with flat base | Harvard Art Museums | KenAI