late 2nd century BCE
Vessel in the form of a cat bearing the upper portion of a squared wine jar (fang) on its back; the cat’s head raised with eyes open and mouth closed, legs bent and gathered beneath its body, tail curled upward and back towards the jar; two sides of the jar have a molded pushou-masks intended to support ring-handles; one iron ring survives; a pyramid-shaped lid covers the jar; molded gray earthenware with applique elements and traces of red and white pigments on the exterior and red pigment on the interior.
H. 41.9 x W. 43.5 x D. 23.6 cm (16 1/2 x 17 1/8 x 9 5/16 in.)
[Galerie Gisèle Croës - Arts d'Extreme-Orient, Brussels, Belgium, May 2000] sold; to Walter C. Sedgwick Foundation, Woodside, CA (2000-2006), partial gift; to Harvard University Art Museums, 2006.
Cast bronze
2nd-1st century BCEChineseGray earthenware with traces of cold-painted pigments
3rd-1st century BCEChineseStoneware with localized splashes of natural ash glaze over impressed decoration
4th-1st century BCEChineseGray stoneware
3rd-2nd century BCEChineseGray earthenware with cold painted decoration
2nd-1st century BCEChineseBuff earthenware with appliqué handles and tabs, with decoration painted in black slip, and with traces of natural ash glaze
2nd-1st millennium BCEChineseGray stoneware
2nd-1st century BCEChineseEarthenware
2nd-1st millennium BCEChineseGray earthenware with cold painted pigments
2nd-1st century BCEChinesePainted lacquerware: brown and reddish orange lacquer over wooden core
3rd-1st century BCEChineseCast bronze with gilding
3rd century BCE-3rd century CEChineseGray earthenware with cold-painted pigments
2nd century BCEChinese