Amphora-shaped vessel with dragon handles

Many publications have misdated this type of amphora to the Sui dynasty. The form originated as southern celadon chicken-headed jars during the fourth to sixth centuries, and was modified in the Sui dynasty by northern potters into two styles: a double body with two handles and a single body with one handle. The single bodied vessels with two handles, as seen here, first appeared in the early Tang, as evidence from dated tombs in Shaanxi and Henan attests (KG 1977.5: pl. 9; KG 1986.11: 998; KG 1986.5: 432).