STEATITE JAR AND COVER
TANG DYNASTY (618-907)
7 cm high, 6.4 cm wide
The small jar is of globular form, slightly tapering towards the food and rising to a short neck with flaring rim. The domed cover is surmounted by a bud-shaped finial, the rim incised with a double band. The stone is of olive-green tone, flecked with irregular grey and black inclusions.
During the Tang dynasty, steatite was appreciated for its natural variations in colour and for its relative softness, and was therefore used for crafting objects in a variety of shapes, including covered jars, tripod vessels, incense burners, boxes and animal figures.
Provenance:
Formerly in a Japanese private collection
Ikeda, Tokyo, 2011
Ben Janssens Oriental Art, London
Published:
Ben Janssens Oriental Art, TEFAF Catalogue 2012, pp. 46-47