VesselsChinese3rd millennium BCE

Bird-shaped jar

Banshan phase, c. 2650-2300 BCE

Description

Compressed, wide-bodied jar with open mouth, short, cylindrical, off-center neck, rounded shoulders, sides tapering inward to a small, flat base, two strap lug handles, and a small, wide tab below the shoulder, opposite the mouth and neck; buff earthenware lightly burnished and decorated with geometric designs painted in black slip before firing; decoration on the shoulders includes two large round cartouches, one with small squares and crosshatched rhombuses, the other with large dots set within a grid of crosshatched bands. Majiayao culture, Machang type. From the upper Yellow River valley region; Gansu, Qinghai, or Ningxia province. This type of jar is said to resemble a squat waterfowl, with the jar’s neck, lug handles, and tab representing a bird’s head, wings, and tail, respectively.

Classification

Vessels

Medium

Earthenware with slip-painted decoration

Culture

Chinese

Period

Neolithic period, Majiayao culture, c. 3300-2000 BCE

Century

3rd millennium BCE

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Department

Department of Asian Art

Dimensions

H. 26.2 x Diam. 37.9 x W. 34.5 cm (10 5/16 x 14 15/16 x 13 9/16 in.) (across handles)

Provenance

[J.J. Lally & Co., New York, October 1999] sold; to Walter C. Sedgwick Foundation, Woodside, CA (1999-2006), partial gift; to Harvard University Art Museums, 2006.