Ancient Chinese Han Dynasty Hu.
Price
£1,850
| $2,444 USD | €2,193 EUR
Item Ref
8012
Description
A rare and fine Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD) Greyware pottery Hu. Inspired by the late Chu bronzes, sweeping and massive, with a globular body. The very simple decoration is characteristic, fillets in relief and two jutting masks called Taotie. This is a motif found on earlier bronze vessels of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, and possibly further back to Neolithic times. It consists of a frontal zoomorphic mask, with raised eyes and no lower jaw; its purpose was to keep evil spirits away. A Hu was used for storing food, indeed, they have been found in tombs still containing food to sustain the deceased in the Afterlife.It is encrusted with earth from the tomb where it stood for over 2000 years.
SIZE: 18 inches tall. (46 cm) This is an unusually large vessel; a more common size is about 14 inches.
CONDITION: Excellent, apart from a hair crack running up from near the base to the shoulder of the jar. Probably caused when it was removed from the tomb.
PROVENANCE: Discovered in Beijing and brought into this country in 1995, when China opened to the outside world, by the specialist antiquities dealer 'Ancient World' of York,
Then in a Yorkshire collection for the next 24 years.
Internal Ref: 8012
Dimensions
Height = 46 cm (18")Width = 28 cm (11")
Depth = 28 cm (11")
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