VesselsChinese3rd millennium BCE

Tripod steamer (yan)

c. 2600-2000 BCE

Description

Tripod cooking vessel known as a yan, the upper half in the form of a wide-mouthed cauldron with everted rim and two lug handles, the lower half globular in shape and raised on three small legs; buff earthenware with medium gray skin and applique handles. Longshan culture; from Shandong province.

Classification

Vessels

Medium

Earthenware

Culture

Chinese

Period

Neolithic period, Shandong Longshan culture, c. 2600-2000 BCE

Century

3rd millennium BCE

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Department

Department of Asian Art

Dimensions

H. 33.8 x Diam. 21.9 cm (13 5/16 x 8 5/8 in.)

Provenance

[J.J. Lally & Co., New York, March 1999] sold; to Walter C. Sedgwick Foundation, Woodside, CA (1999-2006), partial gift; to Harvard University Art Museums, 2006.

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