Majiayao Shallow Bowl with painted "flowing water" design / Artist Unknown, China, Majiayao Culture
About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 2005/2.89
- Title
- Majiayao Shallow Bowl with painted "flowing water" design
- Artist Nationality
- Chinese
- Artist Life Dates
- 2600 BCE - 2300 BCE
- Medium and Support
- earthenware with black slip painted decoration
- Object Creation Date
- 3290 BCE - 2880 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 Ping and Zenobia Lee
- Dimensions
- 13 cm x 34 cm x 34 cm (5 1/8 in. x 13 3/8 in. x 13 3/8 in.)
- Century
- 32nd c bce - 29th c bce
- Primary Object Classification
- Ceramic
- Primary Object Type
- bowl
- Secondary Object Classification
- Ritual Objects
- Physical Description
- Bowl-shaped ceramic vessel with bold swirling designs painted in black against a neutral background.
- Subject Matter
- The boldly painted pottery of China's prehistoric past dates from the so-called Banshan phase (2600 BCE-2300 BCE) of Majiayao Culture, which flourished in north and northwestern China in the Neollithic Period, before the discovery of the use of bronze.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
- This bowl was 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. The painted decoration is confined to the upper half, perhaps because these vessels 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.
- Secondary Keywords
- containers
- containers by form
- descriptors
- object genres
- object genres by material
- objects we use
- vessels
- 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
- 3024 x 1890
- File Size
- 760 KB
- Record
- 2005/2.89
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-2005-sl-2.89/go2005_21_15.jpg
Rights and Permissions
Related Links
Portfolios
- In public portfolios
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- Full citation
-
"Majiayao Shallow Bowl with painted "flowing water" design; Artist Unknown, China, Majiayao Culture." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-2005-sl-2.89/go2005_21_15.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 23, 2024.
