Skip to Content
Closed now, next open Thursday. Closed now, next open Thursday.

Jar with Handles

A work made of earthenware.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

Image actions

  • A work made of earthenware.

Date:

c. 2000 B.C.

Artist:

Japan

About this artwork

Some of the oldest pottery in the world has been found in Japan. Although the country’s population was made up of hunters and gatherers during the Jomon period (12,500–300 B.C.), there was a stable pattern of settlements, making pottery production a possibility. The Jomon (literally “cord-mark decoration”) period is characterized by low-fired earthenware pottery with indentation marks, raised patterns, and sometimes flamboyant sculptural elements on the rims; such vessels can be found in regions across the Japanese archipelago. Those works displaying a highly refined artistic sense may have served ceremonial functions.

This open-work decorated jar is of the Ubayama (Kasori E) type found in the Neolithic shell mounds of Ichikawa in Chiba; this vessel type is characterized by integration of ornamentation and form, and an increasingly complex manner of patterning clay. Here double-lined “waves” made from coils of clay surge toward one of the perforated handles. The lower walls were impressed with a twisted cord.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Arts of Asia

Title

Jar with Handles

Place

Japan (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

2500 BCE–1500 BCE

Medium

Earthenware

Dimensions

49 × 39 × 32 cm (19 3/4 × 15 3/8 × 12 5/8 in.)

Credit Line

Robert Allerton fund

Reference Number

1963.643

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/18204/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

Share

Sign up for our enewsletter to receive updates.

Learn more

Image actions

Share