VesselsChinese4th-3rd millennium BCE

Bottle

Majiayao phase, c. 3300-2650 BCE

Description

Small ovoid vessel with flared lip, cylindrical neck, sloping shoulders, lower body tapering inward to a small flat base, and two loop handles just below shoulders; buff earthenware lightly burnished and decorated with geometric designs painted in dark brown slip before firing; painted designs include undulating, horizontal lines encircling the neck and body and slightly curved, shark-tooth-like marks encircling the top of the rim. 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. 22.8 x Diam. 14 x W. 15.5 cm (9 x 5 1/2 x 6 1/8 in.)

Provenance

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