Rare Large Chinese Song / Yuan Glazed Buddhist Zodiac Jar

This very rare pottery jar was made during the Song Dynasty (AD 960 - 1279), or possibly the Yuan Dynasty (AD 1279 - 1368) and has been been excavated from a Buddhist site in Yunnan province.

It is made from a buff-coloured pottery that has been coated in a green glaze that is very thin in places.

Around the waist of the jar have been applied twelve mouldings, the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac. The upper body has been carved into a band of lotus leaves and further decorated with five applied mouldings of human figures. The cover has been decorated with an incised elaborate eight-pointed star.

Jars such as this have been described as "offering vessels" - indeed, adhering to the inside base of this jar was a corroded copper or bronze disk, diameter approx. 5cm. The purpose of the disk is unknown. Marks within the corrosion on the disk suggest it was originally wrapped in woven fabric. The disk is, of course, included with the jar.

Height 35 cm (13.75 inches). Some surface wear and loss of glaze in places but no sign of restoration or repair.

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