Broad-shouldered jar
Machang phase, c. 2300 2000 BCE
Description
Ovoid jar with short, cylindrical neck, broad shoulders, sides tapering inward to a small, flat base, and two strap lug handles positioned bilaterally below the shoulder; buff earthenware lightly burnished and decorated with geometric designs painted in black and burgundy slips before firing; painted decoration around the shoulders includes designs of stylized anthropomorphic figures alternating with round cartouches of crosshatched patterns. Majiayao culture, Machang type. From the upper Yellow River valley region; Gansu, Qinghai, or Ningxia province.
Dimensions
H. 38.8 x W. (across handles) 41.5 x Diam. 37 cm (15 1/4 x 16 5/16 x 14 9/16 in.)
Provenance
[Ralph M. Chait Galleries, New York, December 2000] sold; to Walter C. Sedgwick Foundation, Woodside, CA (2000-2006), partial gift; to Harvard University Art Museums, 2006.
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