A PAINTED POTTERY TWO-HANDLED JAR, NEOLITHIC PERIOD China, Majiayao culture, 3^rd-2^nd millennium BC. The compressed globular jar tapering towards the foot, surmounted by a cylindrical neck with everted rim, flanked by two loop handles, the shoulders and neck painted in black and red with medallions filled with a hatched design above a wave border.

Provenance: New York trade.
Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Some old wear, the colors somewhat faded, traces of weathering and aging, firing flaws, encrustations, minor nicks, surface scratches, minuscule losses.

Weight: 3,528 g
Dimensions: Height 35.9 cm

The Majiayao culture was a group of smaller neolithic communities who lived primarily in the upper Yellow River region of eastern Gansu, Qinghai and northern Sichuan, China. The culture existed from c. 3300 to 2000 BC and marks the first time in history that the upper Yellow River region was widely occupied by agricultural settlements. It is famous for its painted pottery, which is regarded as a peak of pottery manufacturing at that time.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related pottery jar, dated to the Neolithic period, Majiayao culture, Machang phase, 2^nd millennium BC, in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 1992.165.12.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie's New York, 21 March 2019, lot 1218
Price: USD 27,500 or approx. EUR 31,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A painted pottery two-handled jar, China, Neolithic period, Majiayao culture, Banshan type, 3rd millennium BC
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form and decoration. Note the related size (39.4 cm).



新石器時代彩繪雙係罐
中國，馬家窯文化，公元前3000至2000年。罐泥質紅陶，口外侈，薄唇，球形腹，小平底，腹部兩側有豎耳。於橙紅色陶衣上繪黑彩漩渦紋。彩繪線條流暢。

來源：紐約古玩交易。
品相：狀況良好，一些磨損，褪色，有風化和老化的痕跡，燒製缺陷，結殼，輕微的劃痕和微小的缺損。

重量：3,528 克
尺寸：高35.9 厘米

馬家窯文化主要分佈於黃河上游地區及甘肅，青海境內的洮河、大夏河及湟水流域和涼州的谷水流域一帶，是黃河上游新石器時代晚期文化。它因最早發現於馬家窯遺址而得名，年代約為公元前3300年-前2050年。馬家窯文化以彩陶器為代表，它的器型豐富多姿，圖案極富於變化和絢麗多彩，是人類遠古先民創造的最燦爛的文化、是彩陶藝術發展的頂峯。

文獻比較：
比較一件非常相近的公元前2000年前新石器時代馬家窯文化彩繪雙係罐，收藏於紐約大都會藝術博物館，編號1992.165.12。

拍賣結果比較：
形制：非常相近
拍賣：紐約佳士得，2019年3月21日，lot 1218
價格：USD 27,500（相當於今日EUR 31,000）
描述：公元前3000年前新石器時代馬家窯文化半山遺址款彩繪雙係罐
專家評論：比較非常相近的外型和裝飾。請注意相近尺寸(39.4 厘米)。