Basin
4th-5th century CE
Description
Basin with wide, flat, everted rim and rounded sides; short footring of wide diameter and narrow width encircles the flat base; incised horizontal lines encircle the exterior walls; a simple circle is impressed into the floor of the basin. Light gray stoneware with olive-green glaze all over, including the underside; more than a dozen spur marks on the base indicate the object was elevated in the kiln when fired. From the Yue kilns in the Shaoxing area of northeastern Zhejiang. Large bronze basins of this form were used from the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE) through the Northern and Southern Dynasties period (420–589) and were the inspiration for ceramic basins such as this. These types of vessels are referred to as “xi” (washers), indicating their probable function. Numerous green-glazed basins of this form have been excavated from third- and fourth-century tombs in Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces.
Dimensions
H. 6 x Diam. 23.7 cm (2 3/8 x 9 5/16 in.)
Provenance
[Priestley and Ferraro, London, May 2001] sold; to Walter C. Sedgwick Foundation, Woodside, CA (2001-2006), partial gift; to Harvard University Art Museums, 2006.
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