VesselsChinese4th-3rd millennium BCE

Basin

Majiayao phase, c. 3300-2650 BCE

Description

Circular basin with everted rim, slightly rounded sides, lower body tapering inward to a flat base, and two crenellated handles positioned bilaterally on the exterior at the juncture where the lower body begins to taper; buff earthenware lightly burnished and decorated with geometric designs painted in dark brown slip before firing; painted designs include undulating parallel lines interspersed with dots on the inner walls surrounding two dots with emanating arcs at the center floor, curved lines in seven sections on the rim, pairs of wavy lines with curved flourishes on the exterior. 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. 12.5 x Diam. 31.5 cm (4 15/16 x 12 3/8 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.