East Asia, China, Qijia (Qi Jia) culture, ca. 2200 to 1800 BCE. A gorgeous vessel from a rarely-seen culture, this is a pottery bowl with two strap-like handles that rise from the shoulder to just below the unpronounced rim. The shoulder and handles are decorated with tiny embedded shells. The surface is painted with a dramatic cross-hatched and diamond-shaped pattern in brown on cream. The Qijia culture centered around Gansu, in north central China; it occupied a transitional phase between Neolithic and Bronze Age technology, with evidence for cold hammered and cast metal objects present at some of their archaeological sites. Their ceramics seem to have been made to mimic some aspects of metal - for example, the shell inlays seem designed to look like rivets. Size: 5.1" W x 4.3" H (13 cm x 10.9 cm)

Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection

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#135273

Rim has one small area of repair and restoration with overpainting on the restored area; otherwise in excellent condition.