VesselsChinese4th-3rd millennium BCE

Wide-mouthed jar with pictorial decoration

Majiayao phase, c. 3300-2650 BCE

Description

Compressed ovoid vessel with flat, everted rim, sloping shoulders, lower half tapering inward to a flat base, and two loop handles positioned bilaterally at the midsection; buff earthenware lightly burnished and decorated with pictorial designs painted in dark black slip on the upper half and rim before firing; painted designs include zoomorphic frog- or turtle-like creatures with human heads on one side and wavy lines reminiscent of flowing water on the other. Majiayao culture, Majiayao type. From the upper Yellow River valley region; Gansu, Qinghai, or Ningxia province.

Classification

Vessels

Medium

Earthenware with slip-painted decoration

Culture

Chinese

Period

Neolithic period, Majiayao culture, c. 3300-2000 BCE

Century

4th-3rd millennium BCE

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Department

Department of Asian Art

Dimensions

H. 19.2 x W. (across handles) 27.3 x Diam. 23.2 cm (7 9/16 x 10 3/4 x 9 1/8 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.