A SMALL CARVED BLACK POTTERY AMPHORA

WESTERN HAN DYNASTY

Details

A SMALL CARVED BLACK POTTERY AMPHORA
Western Han Dynasty
Each side with an angular spout and median ridge dividing two spiral medallions with raised edges, the outer edge issuing from the base of each broad strap handle carved with triple figure-eight motifs, with a combed band encircling the neck, raised on a flat foot rim enclosing a countersunk base, the surface burnished
7.5/8in. (19.3cm.) across handles

Provenance

J.J. Lally & Co., New York

Lot Essay

A similar jar in the British Museum is illustrated by S.J. Vainker, Chinese Pottery and Porcelain, New York, 1991, p. 43, fig. 30, where the author notes that this type of jar is known as Lifan, after the area of Sichuan province in which they have been found, and that the shape occured as early as the Neolithic cultures of Machang (c. 3000-2500 BC) and Xindian (c. 1500 BC). The amphorae of this type that have been published are dated Warring States or Han dynasty.

The result of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test no. 766j82 is consistent with the dating of this lot