Cocoon-shaped Flask
Chinese
Description
Subject Matter:
Gray earthenware jian xing hu (茧形壶) cocoon-shaped jars were made for storing wine, rather millet ale; the form is rarely seen outside of the Qin and Han dynasties. These types of polychrome painted hu jars were made in northern workshops of the Western Han dynasty (206 BCE-25 CE) as funerary storage vessels to supply for the afterlife. They have been found in the tombs primarily in Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hebei, and Henan provinces. The scrolling cloud design, thought to be an auspicious motif with the power to ward off evil spirits, is the predominant decoration on Han artifacts and can be found in all media. Polychrome painted earthenware ceramics were found primarily in aristocratic and elite tombs.
Physical Description:
This gray, horizontal, ovoid-shaped earthenware jar rests on a tall, circular, flaring footring. It has a tall, circular, flaring neck with everted rim. A scrolling cloud motif is painted on the body in vertical bands of red, black and white mineral pigments.
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