Exceptionally Well Preserved Genuine Ancient Neolithic Earthenware Vase/Jar 2000 BC with Impressed Design CLASSIFICATION: Impressed Design Earthenware Jar/Vase. ATTRIBUTION: Pre-Dynastic Ancient China, about 4, 000- 2,000 B.C. SIZE/MEASUREMENTS: Height: 124 millimeters (5 inches) Diameter: 90 millimeters (3 2/3 inches) at belly; 81 millimeters (3 1/4 inches) at top lip; 61 millimeters (2 1/2 inches) at base. CONDITION: Exceptional! Entirely intact and unrepaired. Unblemished notwithstanding the assorted bumps, warts, dimples, pits, bruises, and scratches consistent with hand construction and wear due to ancient usage and then burial since ancient times. Impressed vertical design distinguishable. DETAIL: A splendid, well preserved medium sized impressed earthenware jar seemingly attributable to the late third or early second millennium B.C. Its a nice-sized piece, it would hold about one liter (quart) of fluid. The term impressed means that a design was impressed into the still wet vessel before it was fired. More often than not this involved rolling the vase over a fiber mat, impressing a design into the clay. In this case it is rather faint, it seems as if worn down by use, but the impressed design is in the form of vertical lines. What’s really remarkable is that despite its age, it remains entirely intact and unrepaired. Consider the fact that these jars are generally not recovered intact, typically they are found shattered into fragments (shards). There is some assorted insignificant blemishes from ancient use – the typical blemishes one would expect to find of a household artifact which was used in ancient times and then buried. And there are the normal potting blemishes (warts, dimples, pimples and pits) one expects with earthenware crudely fashioned by hand. There are some light soil accretions which could be gently brushed or washed off with a little patience. Notwithstanding these blemishes (entirely normal for such an artifact), it has emerged from the soil in wonderful condition! Disclaimer According to our research it is Pre-Dynastic Ancient China, about 4, 000- 2,000 B.C. Judging by the style it is likely considerably older, but only a $900 thermo luminescence test would establish this conclusively (and even then the reliability and accuracy of such testing is still debated). However whether an antique several centuries old, or an antiquity several millennia old, this is a valuable and collectible piece of art. The jar/vase is not flawless or perfect, but it is entirely intact, and that is the exception for such ancient earthenware artifacts, certainly not the norm. One would expect some blemishes evidence of the trial of burial, such little “battle scars†are virtually obligatory. And this piece does not disappoint in that respect. However on the other hand, there are no significant blemishes worthy of singling out – just the evidence of being buried. Overall it is a very attractive piece, a nicely preserved intact specimen of the ancient Chinese art of pottery. If you’d like an authentic ancient/antique earthenware vase to proudly display, you could not go wrong with this one. It is solidly shaped, nicely featured, and nicely proportioned. Filled with dried flowers for display, it would be a very handsome piece. You could showcase this with great pride either at work on your desk or at home. Either way, it will certainly generate curiosity and perhaps even a little envy! HISTORY OF CHINESE EARTHENWARE: The first Chinese ceramics archaeologists have found date back more than 10,000 years. These were earthenware, which means they were made from clay and fired at the kind of low temperatures reached by a wood fire or simple oven. In China, most ceramics made before the Tang dynasty (600 A.D.) are earthenware. They may be glazed or unglazed, and are occasionally painted, often brightly colored. Stoneware ceramics are harder and less porous than earthenware and are fired at hotter temperatures—between 2100°F and 2400°F. At these high temperatures, the surface of the clay melts and becomes glassy. Although stoneware is usually waterproof, most stoneware ceramics are glazed for decoration. The glazes often contain ash, which allows the glaze to harden at stoneware temperatures.

Exceptional! Entirely intact and unrepaired. Unblemished notwithstanding the assorted bumps, warts, dimples, pits, bruises, and scratches consistent with hand construction and wear due to ancient usage and then burial since ancient times. Impressed vertical design is distinguishable.