Jar with a wide, flat mouthrim

Zun, vessels with round-bottoms, were common throughout China in the neolithic period. By the Shang, ceramic zun from the Erligang site shaped with a flaring mouth, straight neck, and elliptical body, were transformed into Zhou zun with impressed, incised, or painted decorations. This type of zun has been found in numbers concentrated in the Hebei-Henan area (KGXB 1990.1: pl. 19). The visible wheel traces and finger marks in the interior indicate that the piece was molded first, the belly then shaped on a wheel, and the ornament added last, the usual method of construction for this type of decorated, hard earthenware.