COLLECTION NAME:
The AMICA Library
Record
AMICA ID:
MMA_.1992.165.8
AMICA Library Year:
2002
Object Type:
Decorative Arts and Utilitarian Objects
Description:
Large and small two-handled jars, pitchers, bowls, and beakers are the most common forms produced in the Machang phase of the Majiayao (or Gansu Yangshao) culture. Decorative motifs on Machang-period wares are largely geometric and include curvilinear patterns and cross-hatching, and lozenges, triangles, circles, and squares in an endless array of combinations. The zoomorphic figure in the center of this jar is one of the more distinctive images in the Machang vocabulary. Four limbs, bent in the center, are attached to a long torso, capped by a small head. Feathers or some other type of tufting are found at the end of the upper limbs and at the joints of all four appendages. These enigmatic motifs are variously interpreted: they are sometimes explained as abstract representations of natural creatures such as frogs; other hypotheses suggest that they are symbolic of either the costume worn by a shaman or the transformation he undergoes during rituals.
Creator Nationality:
Asian; Far East Asian; Chinese
Creator Name-CRT:
Majiayao culture
Title:
Jar
View:
Principal view
Creation Date:
ca. 2300?2000 B.C.
Creation Start Date:
-2
Creation End Date:
2
Materials and Techniques:
Earthenware with painted decoration
Style or Period:
Machang phase
Creation Place:
Gansu or Qinghai Province, China
Dimensions:
H. 12 3/8 in. (31.4 cm)
AMICA Contributor:
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Owner Location:
New York, New York
ID Number:
1992.165.8
Credit Line:
Charlotte C. and John C. Weber Collection, Gift of Charlotte C. and John C. Weber, 1992
Copyright:
Copyright ? 2002 The Metropolitan Museum of Art. All rights reserved.
Related Image Identifier Link:
MMA_.h1_1992.165.8.tif
