This wonderfully-shaped pottery vessel, usually referred to as a "cocoon" jar was made over 2,000 years ago during the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC - AD 8)...
This wonderfully-shaped pottery jar was made during the early part of the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC - AD 8), or possibly the preceding Qin Dynasty (221 - 206 BC). This type of jar is usually referred to as a "cocoon jar" due to the shape of its body. Its original function was that of a grain storage jar. This particular example has a wide foot, neck and mouth compared to the size of its body...
Many years ago we bought a small group of jars of this type. We were told they dated to the Song Dynasty (AD 960 - 1279) and had been in storage, having several years earlier been recovered from a shipwreck off Thailand. To the base of each jar is written an inventory number (we were told around 200 of these jars were excavated but how accurate this is, we do not know)...
Many years ago we bought a small group of jars of this type. We were told they dated to the Song Dynasty (AD 960 - 1279) and had been in storage, having several years earlier been recovered from a shipwreck off Thailand. To the base of each jar is written an inventory number (we were told around 200 of these jars were excavated but how accurate this is, we do not know)...
This large and impressive pottery jar was made around the 13th / 14th century, during the Song Dynasty (AD 960 - 1279) or the Yuan Dynasty (AD 1279 - 1368). Until recent years, this type of jar was almost unknown in the west with some people initially attributing them to the Liao Dynasty (same general period but in the north of China). These jars are now known to have originated from Yunnan province in the south-west of China...
This pottery horse was made during the early part of the Tang Dynasty (AD 618 - 906). It stands upright with its head turned very slightly to its left. It is made from a buff-coloured pottery and is particularly "heavily-potted". Looking inside the body shows it was made in a two-piece mould. It has been "cold painted" in a base coat of a creamy-white pigment with details picked out in red and black pigments...
This fine-quality pair of highly decorative pottery tiles was made during the Ming Dynasty (AD 1368 - 1644). They are made from a grey pottery and the decoration in relief features a pair of deer in a landscape. Note the detail to the deer, the carved and incised decoration as well as the impressed flower blossoms to the deers' bodies...
This very attractive pottery model of a horse was made during the Tang Dynasty (AD 618 - 906). It is made from a buff-coloured pottery that has been "cold painted" in a reddish-brown pigment with black and white pigments to highlight the head, mane and tail. This horse is well-modelled and stands straight, alert, looking ahead.
Height 21 cm (8.25 inches)...
This large pottery model of an ox, or bull, was made during the Han Dynasty (206 BC - AD 220). It is made from a relatively high-fired grey pottery which has made it much more durable than lower-fired examples...
This large and impressive pottery jar of exceptional form was made during the Five Dynasties period (AD 907 - 960) or possible the early part of the Song Dynasty (AD 960 - 1279). It is a wide-bodied jar with sturdy handles and quite a small flat base, an unusual form for this period...
Juseki is an abbreviation for landscape stone, which means a stone that is a scaled-down version of the natural scenery, a stone that resembles a certain shape, or an abstract stone that evokes intimacy and an elegant imagination that is difficult to describe...
The item is cylindrical in shape and finely hand-painted in polychrome and gold. It features seven colors of birds amidst a dense gold foliate ground, along with thistle leaves...
This rare and unusual pottery model of an ox, or bull, was made during the Tang Dynasty (AD 618 - 906). It is made from a pale pinkish-coloured pottery that is quite highly-fired, having an almost "metallic" ring to it when tapped. Tang pottery items made from a creamy or pink coloured pottery are rarer and often considered finer than the more "common" dark reddish pottery.
It is a muscular looking bull, with its head down ...
This interesting and attractive pottery tile was made during the Jin Dynasty (AD 1115 - 1234) and most likely comes from Shanxi province. It depicts a scene from the story of the Aunt of Lu, one of the stories of the twenty-four paragons of filial piety:
In the Zhou period, there was a righteous woman from the Lu state who fled to escape the turmoil of war. During her escape, she abandoned her own son, whom she ha...