THREE SICHUAN BLACK POTTERY JARS

HAN DYNASTY (206 BC - AD 220)

Details

THREE SICHUAN BLACK POTTERY JARS
HAN DYNASTY (206 BC - AD 220)
Each carved on either side with two spirals that seem to issue from the base of the broad strap handles, two of which are incised with interwoven circles, the third with 'V'-shaped hatching running down the length of the handles, with a finely hatchured band on the faceted neck below the rim formed by an angular spout on either side
The largest, 7½ in. (19 cm.) high; the smallest, 6¾ in. (17.1 cm.) high (3)

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.

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