A PAINTED POTTERY TWO-HANDLED JAR, NEOLITHIC PERIODChina, Majiayao culture, 3rd-2nd millennium BC. Thepressed 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: From a private collection in Sussex, United Kingdom, assembled during the 1990s.Condition: Good condition,mensurate with age. Some old wear, traces of weathering and aging, firing flaws, encrustations, minor nicks, surface scratches, minuscule losses, one small hole and small chips to the mouth.Weight: 2,398 gDimensions: Height 30.3 cmThe Majiayao culture was a group of smaller neolithicmunities 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.Literatureparison:Compare a closely related pottery jar, dated to the Neolithic period, Majiayao culture, Machang phase, 2nd millennium BC, in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number .Auction resultparison:Type: Closely relatedAuction: Christie’s New York, 21 March 2019, lot 1218Price: USD 27,500 or approx.EUR 29,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writingDescription: A painted pottery two-handled jar, China, Neolithic period, Majiayao culture, Banshan type, 3rd millennium BCExpert remark:pare 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，西元前三至兩千年。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。