Object Description
A good-sized Chinese Neolithic earthenware storage jar. Rising from a narrow base, the vessel reaches its greatest girth slightly below its centre, where two small handles have been attached at the base of the main design. The neck is relatively short and straight and ends in a slightly flaring lip and wide mouth. The artist has applied a complex horizontal pattern of decoration in alternating bands around the upper body, with a larger band of crisscross pattern around the neck and diagonal stripes around the waist. The lower body is left undecorated.
Banshan phase of the Neolithic Gansu Yangshao culture: Circa 2600–2300 BC.