Large storage jar with spiral design / Artist Unknown, China, Majiayao Culture
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About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 1993/1.65
- Title
- Large storage jar with spiral design
- Artist Nationality
- Chinese
- Artist Life Dates
- 2600 BCE - 2300 BCE
- Medium and Support
- red earthenware with black and reddish-brown slip decoration
- Object Creation Date
- 2600 BCE - 2300 BCE
- Object Creation Place
- Asia (continent)
- China (nation)
- Gansu (province)
- Creation Place 1
- Asia (continent)
- Creation Place 2
- China (nation)
- Creation Place 3
- Gansu (province)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Domino's Pizza, Inc.
- Dimensions
- 41.3 cm x 40 cm x 40 cm (16 1/4 in. x 15 3/4 in. x 15 3/4 in.)
- Century
- 25th-24th century BCE
- Primary Object Classification
- Ceramic
- Primary Object Type
- jar
- Secondary Object Classification
- Ritual Objects
- Physical Description
- The pot has a narrow, cylindrical neck, abruptly giving way to a rounded upper half, tapering gently to a flat bottom, with two small lugs (ring handles) at the waist. Painted decoration is confined to the upper half, perhaps because these pots were set into the earth to keep them upright.
- Subject Matter
- This large, handsome jar is one of several in UMMA's collection dating from the so-called Banshan phase (2600 BCE-2300 BCE) of Majiayao Culture, which flourished in north and northwestern China in the Neollithic Period.
- People of the Majiayao Culture lived in riverside villages, and made their livelihood by hunting, fishing, and small-scale plant cultivation. Kilns were located just outside the village, but potting does not seem to have been a specialized occupation. There was very little variation in the types of vessels made, and certain shapes remained popular for many centuries. Large storage jars such as this one are found in graves, placed around the figure of a single corpse; judging from later practices, they held grain to supply the deceased in the afterlife.
- These magnificent large jars are astonishingly thin and lightweight. Studies show that they were made by coiling strips of clay, and then a paddle and anvil were used to stabilize and refine the shape. The exterior surface was scraped, especially on the lower half, to produce a thin body and remove marks of the paddle. The whole was then often covered with slip (a very watery clay), dried, painted with mineral pigments, and fired in a simple kiln. The rich red, purple, brown and black tones of the paint come from iron and manganese compounds, which would have been found when digging for clay.
- Pots from the Banshan phase of Majiayao Neolithic Culture—named for the site where sample vessels were first discovered—almost always have the same general shape: a narrow, cylindrical neck, abruptly giving way to a rounded upper half, tapering gently to a flat bottom, with two small lugs (ring handles) at the waist. Painted decoration is confined to the upper half, perhaps because these pots were set into the earth to keep them upright. The painted designs evoke fish nets and swirling eddies of water, but their meaning remains a matter of debate; since these pots date from before the invention of a writing system, the Majiayao people left no record of what their beautiful designs mean.
- Primary Keywords
- jar
- Rights
- If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/about/services/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Technical Details
- Collection
- University of Michigan Museum of Art
- Image Size
- 1375 x 953
- File Size
- 133 KB
- Record
- 1993/1.65
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1993-sl-1.65/1993_1.65.jpg
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Related Links
Portfolios
- In public portfolios
IIIF
- Manifest
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1993-SL-1.65:1993_1.65.JPG
Cite this Item
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- Full citation
-
"Large storage jar with spiral design; Artist Unknown, China, Majiayao Culture." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1993-sl-1.65/1993_1.65.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 19, 2024.
