Wine Container

Food & Drink Pottery

Wine container of Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD) with a small neck. Grave offering modeled in a shaping like bronze vessels. Neck white grey. Vascular body rust/red brown with a kind of white chalk or lime decoration. Shoulder and lower vascular area middle grey with white decoration.

Object ID
Han_001

Age
Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD)

Material
Ceramics

Color
rust red and grey, white decoration

Diameter
12 cm

Height
15 cm

Neck-height
1.1 cm

Neck-width
4.5 cm

Condition
Good

Price
on request

Description

Wine Container

This vessel is a grave offering from Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD). Such grave remains show the purpose to make the stay in the spirit world pleasant by items of the material culture of the real life.

The vessel has a short neck, and a strong shoulder and vascular body. The shoulder is partially restored. The Han Dynasty is well known for coIored ceramics. Also this container is designed with impressive colors: The transition from neck to shoulder is grey-white, the main body rust red, and the lower vascular body wears a wide grey border. Remains of the former decoration show geometric patterns like white diamonds and dots on the grey base color. The rust colored part portrays rests of branches with wine leaves. The bottom is rough and colorless.

In China wine was already drunk in the later Han Period, above numerous types of wine are mentioned in old reports. Nevertheless, wine was part of the social life, and never achieved sacramental-symbolic meaning like in Christianity. [1] (HV)

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[1] Eberhard, Wolfram (1983): Lexikon chinesischer Symbole. Geheime Sinnbilder in Kunst und Literatur, Leben und Denken der Chinesen. Eugen Diederichs Verlag. Köln. 301