Lot 62. A very rare painted pottery humanoid head jar and cover, Neolithic period, Majiayao culture, circa 3300-2000 BC. Height 27.3 cm. Lot Sold 15,600 USD (Estimate 20,000 - 30,000 USD). © Sotheby's 2024

Provenance: French Private Collection.

Acquired in Paris, prior to 2000.

Note: Exceptionally rare, the presented painted pottery vessel with its anthropomorphic cover represents one of the earliest instances of three-dimensional human representation in Chinese art. The Majiayao culture is remarkable for its stylistic painted pottery decoration, and the present vessel likely dates to some time during the second or third phase of the Majiayao culture, the Bashan (c. 2600-2300 BCE) or Machang (2200-2000 BCE) periods, where a more experimental, almost playful, approach to designs incorporating many figural elements entered the repertoire of the potters.

A group of similar heads, without their accompanying vessels, was acquired by the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm, in the early decades of the 20th century, reputedly found in the Banshan hills in Gansu province, illustrated in J.G. Anderson, 'Researches into the Prehistory of the Chinese', Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, vol. 15, 1943, pls 186-7. A related head and vessel in the Harvard Art Museums (accession no. 170.28.A-B), was included in the exhibition Prehistoric Pottery from Northwest China, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 2016 (accession no. 2006.170.28.A-B).

Various theories have been proposed over time regarding the facial features of such vessels. For example, the facial striations have been suggested to represent the tears of a slave before being sacrificed, or a form of human warfare or camouflage for the men of this culture who were hunters. As the individuals at the top of these vessels would likely have been important, another theory holds that the lines represent the designs tattooed or painted on the faces of shaman.

The dating of this lot is consistent with the results of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test no. C103e42.

Sotheby's. China/5000 Years, New York, 28 June 2024.