Jar (Hu)
Unknown Artist
100 BCE–100 CE
Medium
glazed stoneware with incised and applied decoration
Dimensions
h. 45.7 cm · diam. 39.4 cm
Classification
Ceramic
Department
Chinese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Edward L. Whittemore Fund
Accession Number
1954.370
About this artwork
This superb Han dynasty jar has a robust shape imitating that of the bronze (hu) and is covered with a thin brownish-green glaze. The introduction of glazing—which provided an impervious coating to a clay body—marked a technological breakthrough in Chinese ceramic history. High-fired glazed pots were made as early as the Shang and Zhou dynasties (about 1600–256 BC). Potters gained practical technical knowledge of the reaction between the metallic oxide in the glaze and the kiln atmosphere to mod...