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WORLD-STUNNING BANSHAN ANTHROPOMORPHIC JAR AND COVER

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All Items: Antiques: Regional Art: Asian: Chinese: Pottery: Pre AD 1000: item # 849621

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WORLD-STUNNING BANSHAN ANTHROPOMORPHIC JAR AND COVER
An extremely rare, important and fine Neolithic period Majiayao Culture (4000BC - 3000BC) Banshan type anthropomorphic painted and burnished red pottery jar and cover. The flattened globular body finely painted with anthropomorphic human torso designs (Some academics believe they are frog designs.) in red with black outlines, the neck further with two black and two red collar ornaments rising to the head with finely burnished and sculpted face, floral-shaped ears, nose, mouth, painted eyebrows and make-ups, surface all burnished smooth. The top of the head has three protruding structures that look like hair buns or even horns and antennae since they are hollow structures which connect directly to the inside of the head. It probably reflects the dress-up and make-up styles of a Neolithic tribe or another creature since some features do not resemble those of human beings. The exact iconographies are still unknown. However, it is known that its craftsmanship is acme among Neolithic ceramics. The sophisticated and intriguing shape, patterns and the applique anthropomorphic decorations were superbly sculpted and painted. The saw-tooth gap between the cover and the jar was neatly cut. The surface was finely burnished. It was probably one of the earliest fine art that the Chinese made to symbolize the highest power and social status. It has enormous artistic, historical and cultural significances. It comes from the world's most important Neolithic pottery collections formed by a highly discerning connoisseur and successful businessman in Hong Kong and Japan through a few decades since the 1960's. This collection will soon be exposed in a series of unprecedented exhibition world tours with the culmination of an auction sale which would probably stun the world. Pre-exhibition and pre-auction purchases are welcome through us at the moment. The item offered here is one of an extremely rare group of Neolithic period jars and covers with similar appliqué anthropomorphic designs. There are a wide range of sizes of them. The smallest miniature jar is about 1/8 the size of the largest one. According to an archaeologist in Gansu, China, this type of anthropomorphic jars and covers belong to Majiayao Culture Banshan type. The cover was formed by cutting a saw-tooth gap in the jar with a knife-like hard tool just before firing. Carbonized food remains were found along with the shards of these jars and therefore they were probably food jars or ritual vessels for holding food. He also said that this type of jars and covers in intact or good conditions are extremely rare and these 12 are probably the only extant ones in good conditions in the world. All recently excavated ones are shards. No similar jars and covers are recorded anywhere around the world. The item offered here is an extremely precious and important cultural and historical artifact. Date: Neolithic period, Majiayao Culture(4000BC - 3000BC); Height: 26.7cm / 10.5inches; Condition: perfect but with minor surface wear, surface covered with a layer of calcium carbonate formed after excavation.


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