Gourd-shaped jar with two loop-handles

Pottery gourd-shaped wares have been found at the Longshan neolithic site in Shaanxi. From the Warring States period through the Han dynasty, southern potters in particular developed an interest in forming gourd-shaped jars; indeed, most such jars have been unearthed in Fujian, Guangdong, and Guangxi. The jar illustrated here has an expanded body which tapers slightly to a flat base. Both Fujian and Guangdong produced glazed and unglazed jars similar in shape and in the manner of decoration, either incised or grooved, on the body. To distinguish such jars, the position of the handles is the key: Fujian versions have handles vertically attached while Guangdong handles are horizontally applied. The densely arranged friezes on this piece are characteristic of early decorative schemes.