VesselsChinese4th-3rd millennium BCE

Long-necked jar

Majiayao phase, c. 3300-2650 BCE

Description

Ovoid vessel with everted lip, cylindrical neck, angled shoulders, lower body tapering inward to a flat base, and two loop handles just below shoulders; buff earthenware lightly burnished and decorated with abstract designs painted in black slip before firing; painted designs on body neck and rim include four medallions of dots and crossed lines evenly spaced around the vessel, each surrounded by curvilinear triangles, arcs, and wavy or parallel lines. 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. 35.5 x W. 34.5 (across handles) x Diam. 31 cm (14 x 13 9/16 x 12 3/16 in.)

Provenance

[J.J. Lally & Co., New York, December 2000] sold; to Walter C. Sedgwick Foundation, Woodside, CA (2000-2006), partial gift; to Harvard University Art Museums, 2006.