Bird-shaped Urn (2650–2350 BCE): Art, History and Details

Bird-shaped Urn (2650–2350 BCE) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

An imaginative shape and abstract curvilinear patterns lend delightful charm to this functional jar. Its fine-grained body has a light reddish color due to the iron content in the clay, achieved by ensuring abundant air in the kiln during the firing. The surfaces were burnished before applying the painted decoration in black and red.

Object facts

• Title: Bird-shaped Urn
• Date: 2650–2350 BCE
• Culture: Northwest China, Neolithic period, Majiayao culture, Banshan phase (2650–2350 BCE)
• Type: Ceramic
• Technique: earthenware with slip-painted decoration
• Dimensions: Overall: 26.7 x 31.1 x 27.9 cm (10 1/2 x 12 1/4 x 11 in.)
• Collection: China - Neolithic
• Department: Chinese Art
• Accession number: 2007.276

A detail from the museum

This abstract vessel may be imagined as a bird with feathers painted on the body.

Collection credit

Gift of Dr. Norman Zaworski in honor of Dr. Ju-hsi Chou

Further reading listed by the museum

• “Art of Asia Acquired by North American Museums, 2006-2008.” Archives of Asian Art, vol. 59, 2009, pp. 135–180.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.