Yangshao culture, Banpo type (4800–4300 BCE)
Central Yellow River Valley in Shaanxi province, near present-day Xi’an
Height: 44.5cm Diameter: 24cm
**Oxford Authentication Laboratories thermoluminescence tested, sample no. C2106s91
Majiayao culture, Banshan type (2600–2300 BCE)
Gansu or Qinghai province
Height: 25cm Diameter: 22cm
Siwa culture, mid-late second millennium BCE
Upper Yellow River Valley/Gansu province
Height: 17cm Diameter: 17cm
Xindian culture (c. 1000 BCE)
Gansu province
Height: 18cm Diameter: 18cm
Warring States period (475–221 BCE)
Zhejiang province
Height: 3cm Diameter: 4cm; Height: 3.5 cm Diameter: 5cm
These two miniature vessels are skillfully potted of a fine, thin-walled grey earthenware, patterned with an impression of finely-woven textiles on the bodies. The vessels themselves are shaped into somewhat flattened rounds with neatly-trimmed mouthrims. Small-sized vessels such as these are very rare and speak to the potter’s skill, because these tiny, delicate pieces still reflect the typical Warring States ceramics characteristics of impressed pattern and grey body.
Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE)
Height: 19cm Diameter: 26.5cm
This wheel-thrown round jar is made of high-fired, unglazed grey pottery. The simple piece has a round neck and a flared mouth, and its only ornamentation are the two ribbons of impressed decoration on the shoulder of the jar. One style of jar frequently seen during the Han period has the decoration limited to the upper portion of the body, above the widest part of the pot as seen on this vessel. Although glaze development had already begun, in the Han dynasty, simple everyday pottery often followed the traditions of the Zhou and Warring States periods. Namely, that pots were sturdy and practical, and decorated with simple, geometric incised or impressed patterns rather than glazes.
Western Han dynasty (206 BCE–9 CE)
Height: 12cm Width: 18cm Mouth diameter: 9cm
This small jar is covered with a mottled green glaze which ranges in tone from nearly-black to a ruddy olive. Jars such as this are characterized during the Han period by a wide mouth, short neck, deep, globular body, and flat base or footing, regardless of their overall size. The use of lead glaze here – glazes in which lead oxide is added as the principal fluxing agent – allowed the unbaked vessel to be fired to a higher hardness at a lower temperature than otherwise required for high-fired wares. Although archaeologists have discovered glazed wares dating back as early as the Shang dynasty, the Han dynasty marks the first time glazes were frequently used.
Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE)
Shaanxi province
Height 14cm Diameter: 11cm
This small jar is covered with a lead glaze that oxidized during firing into a mottled green ranging from seafoam to deep pine with a silvery overtone. The interior of the mouth is glazed with a yellow-brown glaze, and the red earthenware is visible deeper inside the interior. The base of the jar was also glazed. Hu-type vessels are characterized by a noticeable footing, a wider body, a narrow neck, and a flared mouth. Such jars often serve as vases, spittoons, jars, and teapots.
Tang dynasty (618–907)
Height: 15cm Diameter: 13cm
**Oxford Authentication Laboratories thermoluminescence tested, sample no. P106c62
Tang dynasty (618–907)
Height: 16 cm Diameter: 16cm
This jar is cleanly potted with a flat base and short, straight neck. It has two double-loop handles, evenly placed on either side of the mouth. It is partially glazed with a pale yellow glaze fired into tiny crackles. Yellowware was one of the main types of wares produced during the Tang at the Yaozhou kiln centered in Shaanxi province, a kiln which later became famous during the Northern Song dynasty for its production of celadon-glazed wares. The handles are too frail to have been functional, serving rather to lighten the silhouette of the jar, or perhaps to hold a cord tied around the neck of the vessel. The unglazed lower portion of the jar, its double-loop handles, and sturdy form are all Tang dynasty characteristics.
Liao dynasty (916–1125)
Height: 14.5 cm Diameter: 14.5 cm
This simple jar has a folded lip and a small mouth with no superfluous added features. It is partially glazed with a ochre-colored glaze fired into small crackles, while the color deepens into a concentrated, caramel-like color where the glaze drops thickened at their lowest points on the body of the vessel. Interestingly, the interior of the vessel is fully glazed, leading to the assumption that the potter’s decision to glaze the exterior only partially was made for aesthetic reasons. Ethnically, the Liao dynasty was not Chinese, but were rather Qidan (Khitan) nomads. However, while many questions about their ceramic production still exist, Liao ceramics make a conscious effort to imitate their Chinese predecessors in the use of monochrome-glazed wares in shades of green, brown and yellow, like those seen during the preceding Tang period.
Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
Shaanxi province
Height: 19.5 cm Diameter: 21 cm
This dark-glazed piece was built in sections. The bottom half was thrown on a wheel, and the top half is built of four slabs pressed in a mold carved with characters. The four slabs were then attached to the base and to each other, followed by the addition of the neck, spout and handle. The seams of the piece indicate its construction, although the placement of the spout and handle on two of the seams draw attention away from these joints. The four characters xinghua cunzhuang (meaning “Apricot Blossom Village”) are spaced around the sides of the upper half of the jar. Their presence on a wine jar such as this likely refers to the famous “apricot blossom sorghum wine” (xinghuacun fenjiu), a famous strong spirit that has been brewed in Shaanxi province’s Fenyang county since the 5th century.
Possibly 15th century – late Ming/early Qing dynasty
Height: 16cm Diameter: 21cm Mouth diameter: 9cm
This vessel is notable for its wide mouth, which emphasizes the flattened ring around the shoulder of the piece. The slightly-flared lip and short neck give way to a straight, sharply-angled shoulder before softening into the rounded bottom half of the piece. The mottled blue glaze thins over the ridges to show the buff-colored biscuit, its deep orange hue contrasting nicely with the green and indigo tones of the glaze. The vessel is glazed inside and out, and the glaze itself has a very slight iridescent shine.
Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
Height: 18.5 cm
This meiping vase is glazed with a flambé glaze in subtly-integrated hues of red, fuschia, lilac, deep violet, and sky blue. The glaze was allowed to run down the body in streaks during the firing, which creates the downward-streaking effect, and the various colors were produced naturally during the course of the firing. The meiping shape is characterized by a small mouth, a wide rounded shoulder, and narrow foot. This particular vessel’s foot gently flares out again at the bottom, lending it an especially voluptuous appearance. The term meiping literally translates as “plum vase.” Originally, during the Song dynasty, this form was used for wine jars, but it later became a flower vase, the small mouth just large enough to hold a spray of plum blossoms.
Flambé glazes. also called transmutation glazes, originally referred to any unexpected color which appeared in the glaze after firing. The original transmutation glazes are found on the jun wares of the Song dynasty (960–1279), mixing shades of red, purple, blue and green together in unique ways. Transmutation glazes became popular again during the reigns of the 18th-century emperors Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong. This imperial taste for archaism meant that not only were ancient forms revived, but also ancient glazes, including transmutation glazes. These wares could be modeled directly on Song originals, and were sometimes intended to be passed off as antique originals. Such copying of classic types was a Qing tradition, and still continues in contemporary China.
c. mid‑late Qing
Height: 19.5cm
Diameter: 18cm
c. 1915
Height: 23cm
Diameter: 19cm
Both of these jars are similarly shaped with wide‑lipped mouths, visible necks, high shoulders, and gently‑curved bodies. The glaze on both pieces ends above the foot so that the unglazed ware underneath is visible: coarse buff pottery for the shorter vessel and finer white pottery for the taller vessel. The shorter jar has handles connected at the neck and shoulders, and is rather thickly potted with an uneven lip. Its brown glaze darkens to black at the neck, inside the lip, and where it ran below one handle, but has an all‑over iridescent sheen which gives a coppery tone to the glaze. The taller jar is more finely potted, with a delicately curved and flared lip. Its black glaze has an even more pronounced iridescent sheen in shades of blue, violet and silver, which lends elegance to such a simple piece. There are a number of characters written on the bottom of this vessel, but most are obscured. However, the clearest character is rong, which literally means a fig or banyan tree, but also refers to the southern city of Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian province. It is therefore possible that this piece originated from Fuzhou.
| Late Qing (c. 19th century) | Late Qing (c. 19th century) | Mid Qing (c. 18th century) |
|---|---|---|
| Height: 20cm | Height: 17cm | Height: 20cm |
| Mouth diameter: 9cm | Mouth diameter: 15cm | Mouth diameter: 8cm |
These three dark-glazed jars are all roughly contemporaneous. The center jar is marked by its wide mouth, sharply everted shoulder and double handles. The two other jars both have glaze drips near the bases, and are of similar form, with tall necks, fairly wide mouths in relation to the diameter of the vessels, and squarish shoulders. These two jars are each distinguished by particular features: the incised ridges on the neck of the jar on the right, and subtle body iridescence plus the lighter glaze transmutations on the neck of the jar on the left. All three of these simple, sturdy vessels would likely have been put to daily use.
Qing dynasty, smaller jar c. Tongzhi period (1862–1874); larger jar likely later
Height not including lid: 18cm (left), 20cm (right) Diameter: 21.5cm
Both of these jars are painted with a scene of a scholar and pupils in underglaze blue. The scenes are near-mirror images of each other, with only a few small discrepancies, such as the additional objects on the scholar’s table and the substitution of a butterfly for a bat on the larger jar. Both scenes show a whiskered scholar seated at a large table with a fan in his hand. On the table sit a few traditional scholars objects, such as a brush pot with brushes, brush rest, inkstone, and scroll boxes. The scholar watches one of the young men grind ink while others look on. A young man carrying a book stands next to the ink grinder. To the left of a the scholar stands a young man carrying a scroll, and in front of him is a small child with a stick. In front of the table a child kneels, reading a book. The entire scene is set in a garden amidst rocks, while butterflies (and a lone bat, ostensible a rebus for good luck) flutter overhead.
Aside from the discrepancies in content on the jars, there is also a difference in the painting quality between the two vessels. The smaller jar is finely painted with careful attention to detail, while the larger jar is more relaxed in its portrayal of the scholar and his students. This difference likely indicates that the second jar was made later, possibly in the 20th century, but specifically as a companion to the first jar.
Qing dynasty, Guangxu period (1875–1908),
Guangxu reign mark and of the period
Height: 40cm