Harvard Art Museums > 2006.170.29: Broad-shouldered jar Vessels Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Broad-shouldered jar , 2006.170.29,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Apr 25, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/189161. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Gallery Text Ceramic storage jars of this type have been unearthed in large numbers from both cemeteries and domestic settings at Neolithic culture sites along the upper reaches of the Yellow River valley. This jar’s large size, skillful decoration, and excellent condition suggest that it was intended as a grave object rather than for daily use. Hand-built using the coil method, in which ropes of moist clay were coiled and stacked to create vessel walls that were then beaten smooth with a paddle, the jar was dried to leather hardness before being painted with black and burgundy colored slips (liquid clays) and fired in a kiln. The vessel’s undecorated tapered foot suggests that it was meant to be set into the ground for stability; the potter therefore confined his dynamic, curvilinear designs to the upper portion of the vessel. The bold, abstract decoration on this jar’s shoulder has a surprisingly modern appeal that belies its 3rd-millennium BCE origins. Identification and Creation Object Number 2006.170.29 Title Broad-shouldered jar Other Titles Original Language Title: 馬家窯文化半山類型 彩陶壺 Classification Vessels Work Type vessel Date Banshan phase, c. 2650-2300 BCE Places Creation Place: East Asia, China Period Neolithic period, Majiayao culture, c. 3300-2000 BCE Culture Chinese Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/189161 Location Location Level 1, Room 1740, Early Chinese Art, Arts of Ancient China from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age View this object's location on our interactive map Physical Descriptions Medium Earthenware with bichrome slip-painted decoration Dimensions H. 42.3 x W. 45.5 x Diam. 42 cm (16 5/8 x 17 15/16 x 16 9/16 in.) Provenance Recorded Ownership History James D. Tigerman, Lake Forest, IL (by 1999); sold to Walter C. Sedgwick Foundation, Woodside, CA (1999-2006), partial gift; to Harvard University Art Museums, 2006. Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Partial gift of the Walter C. Sedgwick Foundation and partial purchase through the Alpheus Hyatt Purchasing Fund Accession Year 2006 Object Number 2006.170.29 Division Asian and Mediterranean Art Contact am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Descriptions Description Ovoid jar with short, cylindrical neck, broad shoulders, sides tapering inward to a small, flat base, and two strap lug handles positioned bilaterally just below the shoulder; buff earthenware burnished and decorated with geometric designs painted in black and burgundy slips before firing; painted designs include checkerboard cartouches and geometric saw-toothed whorls on the shoulders, and cross-hatching and triangular waves encircling the neck. Majiayao culture, Banshan type. From the upper Yellow River valley region; Gansu, Qinghai, or Ningxia province. Commentary Compare to: (1) Jar of same form with very similar bichrome painted designs of checkerboard-patterned cartouches, sawtooth-edged scrolls, and pointed waves on neck excavated in 1974 from a Banshan site in Guanhutai, Minhe county, Qinghai province. See Qinghai caitao [Painted Pottery from Qinghai] (Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe, 1980), no. 18, p. 4. (2) Jar of same form with very similar bichrome painted designs of checkerboard-patterned cartouches and sawtooth-edged scrolls excavated in 1975 from a Banshan site in Liuwan, Ledu county, Qinghai province. See Qinghai caitao [Painted Pottery from Qinghai] (Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe, 1980), no. 34, p. 7. Exhibition History 32Q: 1740 Early China I, Harvard Art Museums, 11/16/2014 - 01/01/2050 Subjects and Contexts Sedgwick Collection Verification Level This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
