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East Asia, China, Han Dynasty, ca. 206 BCE to 220 CE. A black earthenware vessel of an incredibly distinctive form with a slightly-inset ring base, a round yet four-sided body, a tapered neck with raised vertical ridges, a flared rim, and a pair of applied strap handles joining rim to body. Each of the body’s four sides bears a series of raised concentric circles, and the neck boasts an encircling strip of densely-incised vertical striations. A lovely example of a unique pottery type from ancient China! Size: 7.125″ W x 6.9″ H (18.1 cm x 17.5 cm).
This type of double-handled amphora was made in western Sichuan province, in central China, and is known as “Lifan” after the area where vessels like it are found. The style is fascinating, very different from others created during the Han period, and seems to be an artistic callback to the elegant forms of the Chinese Neolithic era. These vessels are found mainly within rock-cut tombs and cist burials, with a few examples known from the more classically Han chambered brick tombs. This suggests that these vessels were made by immigrants or members of non-dominant ethnic groups within Han China, probably people who lived a nomadic lifestyle centered on husbandry while their Chinese contemporaries led more sedentary, agricultural-based lifestyles.
Condition: Surface wear and abrasions commensurate with age and use, minor nicks to handles, rim, body, and base, with some fire-darkened areas, otherwise intact and very good. Nice earthen deposits throughout. Old tape residue on rim interior.
Provenance: ex-private Southern California, USA collection, acquired around 1974
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