Minneapolis Institute of Art

Black Amphora with Double Handles

China

Date

3rd-2nd century BCE

Medium

Black earthenware with incised and burnished decor

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

This type of black earthenware is known as Lifan after the area of Sichuan province where such jars have been found. The vessel's waisted profile, two low handles, and raised spiral motifs are rather distinctive features for Han period ceramics. The closest aesthetic parallels occur in much older ceramics of Neolithic cultures like Mazhang (c. 3000-2000 BCE) and Xintian (c. 1500 BCE). This unglazed, hand built black earthenware seems to have remained a regional variant that did not survive the Eastern Han period. China, Asia

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