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.
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.
Related Artworks
View MoreTerracotta
4th century CEGreekCarved rhinoceros horn
17th centuryChineseMaiolica
20th centuryGermanPale green glass
RomanEnameled blue-and-white ware, "wucai" type: porcelain with decoraiton painted in underglaze cobalt blue and overglaze polychrome enamels; with underglaze cobalt-blue mark reading "Da Ming Longqing nian zao" within a double circle on the base
16th centuryChineseSilver
18th centuryBritishEnameled porcelain: porcelain with decoration painted in overglaze polychrome and gold enamels and applique molded handle mounts and knob; with bronze bail handles
19th centuryChineseSilver plate
20th centuryAmericanTerracotta
GermanGlass
19th centuryAustrianTerracotta, gray-brown ware
3rd millennium BCEAnatolianGrayish brown agate with brown mottles
19th centuryChinese