AN EXCEPTIONAL PAINTED POTTERY FIGURE OF A BIRD, NEOLITHIC PERIOD, MAJIAYAO CULTURE

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AN EXCEPTIONAL PAINTED POTTERY FIGURE OF A BIRD, NEOLITHIC PERIOD, MAJIAYAO CULTURE Scientific Analysis Report: A thermoluminescence analysis report issued by Oxford Authentication on 5 August 2026, based on sample number C126j53, sets the firing date of both samples taken between 2800 and 4300 years ago, consistent with the dating above. A copy of the report accompanies this lot. China, Machang phase, c. 2200-2000 BC. Well modeled, the stout body supported on a gently flaring foot and extending into a slender neck surmounted by an abstracted bird’s head distinguished by a long beak and pointed crest, all boldly painted in reddish-brown tones, with the wings prominently rendered on either side of the body, the back and tail with cross-hatched designs. Dimensions: Height 28.3 cm The Majiayao culture developed out of the Yangshao tradition and is renowned for its highly accomplished ceramic production, particularly its painted pottery. Archaeologists conventionally divide the Majiayao culture into four successive chronological phases, Shilingxia, Majiayao, Banshan, and Machang, on the basis of developments in ceramic technology, vessel morphology, and decorative styles. Relatively few vessels from the early Shilingxia phase have been excavated, those that have been recovered being typically made of red earthenware, occasionally decorated with grey-black painted motifs. Painted pottery became far more prevalent during the succeeding Majiayao phase, when vessels were generally fashioned from orange or reddish clay and decorated with swirling or linear designs. The Banshan phase represented the artistic apogee of the tradition, producing finely finished vessels with smooth, lustrous surfaces embellished with refined and highly original painted linear compositions. By the subsequent Machang phase, ceramic production entered a period of decline. Vessels became coarser in fabric and their painted decoration less vibrant. However, a number of innovative vessel forms emerged during this final phase, including bird-shaped jars such as the present example, a distinctive type that would continue to evolve in the succeeding Qijia and Siba cultures, where zoomorphic ceramic forms became an established feature of the ceramic repertoire. Literature comparison: Compare a related red pottery bird-shaped jar, dated c. 2050-1700 BC, 22.4 cm high, illustrated in Simon Kwan, Chinese Neolithic Pottery, 2005, p. 218, no. 90. Compare a related painted pottery urn, dated c. 2650-2350 BC, 31.1 cm long, in the Cleveland Art Museum, accession number 2007.276.

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