Cylindrical Jar (202 BCE–220 CE): Art, History and Details

Cylindrical Jar (202 BCE–220 CE) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

Vessels like this often are call "hill jars" since many survive with conical covers shaped in rising peaks. "Squatting bear" feet and false animal-mask ring handles are common to the group. This cylinder has been molded in two relief bands depicting hills and three populated with a medley of real and imaginary creatures. Wispy human-like figures are associated with a popular cult of Taoism prevalent in China during the Han Dynasty. The scene may represent a paradise of immortality idealized by that cult and appropriate to this vessel's offering as a burial gift. When excavated from Han tombs, similar jars have been found to hold animal bones or powder; they may have served as food or cosmetic containers. Regardless of symbolism or function, this piece provides evidence for the appearance of early landscape lost in more fragile media.

Object facts

• Title: Cylindrical Jar
• Date: 202 BCE–220 CE
• Culture: China, Han dynasty (202 BCE–220 CE)
• Type: Ceramic
• Technique: lead glazed earthenware with molded relief
• Dimensions: Diameter: 27.3 cm (10 3/4 in.); height: 26.7 cm (10 1/2 in.)
• Collection: China - Han Dynasty
• Department: Chinese Art
• Accession number: 1948.214

A detail from the museum

The three feet are in the form of seated bears holding cubs.

Collection credit

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Getz, John. The Kélékian Collection of Ancient Chinese Potteries. Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1917.
• Hollis, Howard. "Two Pieces of Han Pottery." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 35, no. 9 (November 1948): 210-211.
• Lee, Sherman E. Chinese Landscape Painting. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1954.

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.