Monumental Chinese Drip Glaze Relief Jar, c. 1900

Originally used for pickling food, this large earthenware jar was sculpted in China's Shanxi province nearly two centuries ago, shaped by hand with grand scale and wabi-sabi texture. The monumental vessel is cloaked inside and out with a beautiful drip glaze that lingers on every imperfection, streaming down the sides with rich color ranging from warm brown to cool black. Subtle ridges and indentations throughout suggest the jar was fashioned by coiling flattened ropes of clay and then tapped with a paddle to achieve a faceted texture. The interior is repeatedly stamped with a pattern suggestive of rippling water, encouraging the glaze to flow and drip with irregular movement and color variance. The rounded rim is left unglazed, the raw earthenware texture set in contrast to the glossy finish of the sides. Today, the monumental pot...

Made of unglazed terracotta this Chinese storage jar bears the marks of its creation in the smoky clouds that coat its exterior. The vessel was likely pit fired, a process that dates back thousands of years. Essentially a baking technique, clay objects were put in a pit, covered with combustibles and burned. At high heat, vapors swirl around the objects staining the clay with haphazard swirls of color. With its distinctive coloration and wide, open profile, this monumental vessel...

A wonderful blue-green glaze adorns this early 20th Century Chinese storage jar along with a stunning crackled finish. Jars such as these would be used to store grains amid people's ...

This glazed Chinese ceramic jar from the turn of the 19th Century was once used for soy sauce production. It features a brown finish and outer surface that f...