Neolithic - Neolithic Jar from the Yellow River Basin
14 1/2 x 15 inches
Both in form and decoration this piece is typical of the pottery found at Panshan in the western
province of Kansu. Unearthed from burial grounds, these are always funerary vases, and were
intended to hold offerings of food for the dead. The fine clay was formed by hand and fired at a
high temperature. The coiling spirals of the decoration, painted dark red and brown over light
orange, have a noble breadth and balance. The neck is decorated with a denticulated pattern called
the "Motif of Death".
Thermoluminescence authenticity test by WW Tsa, University of Hong Kong, 15 February 1996 confirms
an approximate age of this object to be 4460 years (lab reference #26.96). Literature: c/f He Li,
Chinese Ceramics, Rizzoli, New York, 1996, pages 22, 23, and 58. c/f: Goldscmidt and Moreau
Gobard, Chinese Art, Rizzoli, New York, 1980, page 233.
AS933
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