AN EXTREMELY RARE PAINTED POTTERY FIGURE OF A BIRD, LATE NEOLITHIC PERIOD, QIJIA CULTURE

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AN EXTREMELY RARE PAINTED POTTERY FIGURE OF A BIRD, LATE NEOLITHIC PERIOD, QIJIA CULTURE Scientific Analysis Report: A thermoluminescence analysis report issued by Oxford Authentication on 3 August 2026, based on sample number C126j50, sets the firing date of two samples taken between 2800 and 4200 years ago, consistent with the dating above. A third sample taken from under the back of the body was made of unfired material and thus could not be dated. A copy of the report accompanies this lot. China, Gansu and Eastern Qinghai Province, c. 2050-1700 BC. Boldly modeled, the avian with an ovoid body supported on a tapered foot and extending into a long neck that rises vertically to an abstracted head with open beak, all boldly painted in sepia on the yellow earthenware with cross-hatched patterns and rhomboidal motifs arranged in a series of registers. Dimensions: Height 28.4 cm The Qijia culture, an early Bronze Age culture of northwestern China, succeeded the neolithic Majiayao culture, inheriting many of its ceramic traditions while introducing new technological and stylistic features. Although painted pottery is less abundant than in the preceding Majiayao tradition, Qijia ceramics are generally more refined, particularly in comparison with those of the Machang phase. Its principal ceramic production comprised plain orange-red earthenware together with red wares coated with a white slip, while the repertoire of vessel forms was remarkably varied, including such characteristic types as small cups and bird-shaped jars, exemplified by the present lot, numerous examples of which have been recovered from archaeological excavations. Distinguished by their thin walls and relatively high firing temperatures, Qijia wares demonstrate a notable degree of technical sophistication. For a discussion of Qijia ceramics, see Simon Kwan, Chinese Neolithic Pottery, 2005, p. 35. Literature comparison: Compare a related yellow pottery bird-shaped jar, dated c. 2050-1700 BC, 21.6 long, illustrated in Simon Kwan, Chinese Neolithic Pottery, 2005, p. 216, no. 89. For a similar decorative scheme of diagonal lines, compare a related painted pottery jar with similar wicker patterns, dated c. 2050-1700 BC, 19 cm high, illustrated ibid., p. 248, no. 105.

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