An impressive Chinese pottery Hu vase, Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD). The pear-shaped body rises from a rounded base to a waisted neck with an everted, galleried rim, and is banded by grooved lines encircling the shoulder and body. Two applied taotie masks with mock ring handles flank the shoulders, a hallmark decorative feature of Han-period ritual and funerary vessels.
The vase is covered in a rich lead-based green glaze, deepening to near-black tones in the lower body, with the surface showing the soft iridescent patina typical of glazed pottery of this age. This lustrous green glaze imitated the bronze ritual vessels of earlier dynasties, which the wealthy could no longer commission in bronze under Han sumptuary restrictions, making glazed pottery Hu vases like this one a prized funerary substitute.
Dimensions: 42 x 33 cm
Period: Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD)
Condition: Good — slight chipping to the rim, with one crack to the glaze; overall condition consistent with age.
Offered by RDS Gallery, Paris. Worldwide shipping with specialist packaging.
An impressive Chinese pottery Hu vase, Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD). The pear-shaped body rises from a rounded base to a waisted neck with an everted, galleried rim, and is banded by grooved lines encircling the shoulder and body. Two applied taotie masks with mock ring handles flank the shoulders, a hallmark decorative feature of Han-period ritual and funerary vessels.
The vase is covered in a rich lead-based green glaze, deepening to near-black tones in the lower body, with the surface showing the soft iridescent patina typical of glazed pottery of this age. This lustrous green glaze imitated the bronze ritual vessels of earlier dynasties, which the wealthy could no longer commission in bronze under Han sumptuary restrictions, making glazed pottery Hu vases like this one a prized funerary substitute.
Dimensions: 42 x 33 cm
Period: Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD)
Condition: Good — slight chipping to the rim, with one crack to the glaze; overall condition consistent with age.
Offered by RDS Gallery, Paris. Worldwide shipping with specialist packaging.
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