Covered Jar
Chinese
Description
Subject Matter:
From the mid-tenth to the early twelfth centuries, the Khitan Liao, a tribe of Mongol origin, ruled over much of north China. So powerful was the Liao that the contemporary Chinese dynasty of Northern Song (960-1126) regularly sent tribute north to keep the peace.
Liao pottery borrows heavily from Tang and Northern Song models, but Liao ceramic production also shows an originality and vitality that reflects the cosmopolitan nature of Khitan culture, particularly in the area of vessel shape. Liao potters adopted shapes from objects made in other materials and from objects of West Asian and Middle Eastern origin.
Physical Description:
Stoneware jar with flaring foot and high rounded shoulders on a tapered body. It has an everted, flared foot, and short narrow neck covered with a flat lid with conical knob. The top three-quarters of the jar is covered in an amber-colored glaze.
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