Jar with Spiral Designs (3300–2650 BCE): Art, History and Details

Jar with Spiral Designs (3300–2650 BCE) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

This jar is a spectacular example of painted pottery from the Majiayao culture, one of the regional cultures of prehistoric China. Its geometric patterns are probably abstract symbols transformed from a bird image, which may suggest a clan totem or nature spirits. Archaeological work confirms the coexistence of different regional cultures in ancient China, contesting the old belief that the Chinese civilization originated solely along the Yellow River. The artifacts of these cultures manifest distinctive characteristics; each one played a role in the formation of the greater Chinese civilization.

Object facts

• Title: Jar with Spiral Designs
• Date: 3300–2650 BCE
• Culture: Northwest China, Neolithic period, Majiayao culture, Majiayao phase (3300–2650 BCE)
• Type: Ceramic
• Technique: earthenware with slip-painted decoration
• Dimensions: Diameter: 39.1 cm (15 3/8 in.); Overall: 45.2 cm (17 13/16 in.)
• Collection: China - Neolithic
• Department: Chinese Art
• Accession number: 2004.64

A detail from the museum

The spiral designs on this jar were made using an ancient Chinese pottery technique called slip painting.

Collection credit

Gift of Donna S. and James S. Reid Jr. in honor of Dr. Ju-hsi Chou

Further reading listed by the museum

• Kaikodo journal. Vol XI, Spring 1999.
• Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014.
• “A Walking Tour: The entire new museum wing by wing, with curators calling out a few favorite works in the collection.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 54, no. 1 (January/February 2014): 8–33.

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.