Funerary Storage Jar, c. 2300 BCE
Majiayaoexpand_more
Banshan type Earthenware with painted and burnished decorexpand_more
Gift of funds from Ellen and Fred Wellsexpand_more 89.49
On View in Gallery 204expand_more
The most distinctive product of the Majiayao culture (3800-2000 BCE) was a type of painted pottery of extraordinary refinement which has become associated with the Neolithic grave sites at Banshan in Gansu province. This jar, like others shown here, was fashioned without the use of a potter's wheel by coiling rolls of clay into the desired shape, after which it was smoothed, burnished, painted and fired at a temperature around 1000 degrees F. Because most Majiayao pottery was a less refined, more utilitarian ware, and since elaborate jars such as this were usually buried with the deceased, it is probably that they held food for the afterlife and the designs may have held religious significance for the ancient Chinese.
Details
- Title
- Funerary Storage Jar
- Role
- Artist
- Accession Number
- 89.49
- Curator Approved
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