Accession Number
1993/1.93

Title
Jar

Artist(s)
Chinese

Artist Nationality
Chinese (culture or style)

Object Creation Date
475 BCE - 221 BCE

Medium & Support
stoneware with ash glaze

Dimensions
7 7/8 in x 11 1/4 in x 11 1/4 in (20 cm x 28.58 cm x 28.58 cm);7 7/8 in x 11 1/4 in x 11 1/4 in (20 cm x 28.58 cm x 28.58 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Domino's Pizza, Inc.

Label copy
5. Globular jar with ring handles
China, Zhejiang province, Eastern Zhou dynasty, 771–256 bce
6th–4th centuries bce
Stoneware with carved and stamped decoration under olive green glaze
Gift of Domino’s Pizza, Inc., 1993/1.93
Bronze vessels were the weapon of choice for lavish displays of wealth among the ambitious warlords and nobles of the feudal Warring States period. Potters were often called upon to help make ceramic molds of intricate designs that were then translated into bronze. Yet as soon as new shapes or designs appeared in bronze, they were copied back into pottery, particularly for burial as funerary gifts. The handles that simulate metal rings, the smooth taut form of the jar, and the wide bands of incised rib patterns on the upper body all contribute to the appearance of hard and concise metalwork in this pottery vessel.

Subject matter
The bronze prototype for this stately jar is probably a form known as guan (罐) , which was popular throughout the Zhou dynasty. The ring handles, incised and impressed decoration, and olive green glaze emulate bronze vessels that were popular and much more expensive than ceramics.  
A light coating of accidental ash olive glaze dusts the shoulder of the stoneware, sometimes referred to as proto-porcelain, which was fired to temperatures of around 1100 degrees Celsius. During the Warring States Period, many glazed proto-porcelain vessels were made as less-expensive, yet just as impressive, alternative to bronze vessels.

Physical Description
A globular, wide-mouthed jar with two bands of incised and impressed rib-pattern decoration, and two lug handles holding loose rings on the shoulder. A light coating of olive-green glaze covers the top and shoulder. 

Primary Object Classification
Ceramic

Primary Object Type
jar

Collection Area
Asian

Rights
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Keywords
ash glaze
ceramic glaze
jars
stoneware (pottery)
storage jars