Neolithic Period (4500 - 2300 BCE)
Height: 7 inches (17.8 cm.)
The white-pottery tripod vessel has a plump, spherical body made up of three swollen legs, tapering towards the tip of each leg. A crenellated band encircles the waist. A strap handle with an incised line emerges from the body and connects to the neck below the thin rim. The neck curves upward to a pinched, beak-like spout.
This vessel comes from the Dawenkou culture of Shandong region. It represents another version of the Gui shape excavated in northern China.
Reference Pieces
A similar ewer is in the Shandong Province Museum and illustrated in A Survey of Chinese Ceramics, Early Wares: Prehistoric to Tenth Century, page 23. See another ewer illustrated in Art of Dynastic China, number 190.