A Chinese black pottery anthropomorphic ewer

拍品描述

A Chinese black pottery anthropomorphic ewer, presumed Neolithic period, Majiayao culture, Majiayao phase, c. 3100-2700 BC, untested, 29cm highProvenance: An English private collection Believed purchased by the current owner on the 7th of March 1971 from the dealer E. D. Levine, The Antique Gallery, Cromer, Norfolk. E. D. Levine is recorded by the British Museum as having been based at Church Street, Cromer, Norfolk (1957). By repute E.D. Levine purchased this lot from Margaret Jane Barclay (1861-1958) of Herne Close, Cromer, together with the entire contents of her house. Margaret's ancestor James Barclay (1708-66) established the Barclays banking dynasty. The present jar represents a superlative achievement in Neolithic ceramic art, standing as a testament to the sophisticated spiritual and aesthetic world of the Majiayao culture. While the Machang phase is widely celebrated for its bold, rhythmic geometric painting, the inclusion of three-dimensional anthropomorphic relief-or appliqué-is exceedingly rare.The figure, rendered in a distinctive 'frog-like' or ritualistic pose, serves as a profound early exploration of the human form. Scholars often interpret the explicit anatomical markers as evidence of fertility worship or shamanistic transformation. The seamless integration of the relief with the surrounding 'serrated' painted motifs suggests a deliberate iconographic program, likely intended for high-status ritual use or as a primary funerary vessel. Compare a very similar jar exavated in 1974 in Qinghai, China, today at the National Museum of China, see Qinghai Provincial Archaeological Team, Main Issues Reflected in the Primitive Society Cemetery at Liuwan, Ledu, Qinghai, Kaogu Journel, no. 6, 1976.馬家窯文化（可能） 彩陶貼塑人面雙係罐拍品來源： 現藏家於1971年3月7日購自諾福克郡克羅默古董商 E. D. Levine（The Antique Gallery）。據大英博物館記錄，Levine 曾於1957年在克羅默教堂街經營。據傳，此件原屬瑪格麗特·簡·巴克萊（1861-1958）舊藏，居於克羅默 Herne Close，其宅邸藏品後由 Levine 整體購入。巴克萊家族先祖詹姆斯·巴克萊（1708-1766）為巴克萊銀行世家奠基人。

图片