ART 198 - HISTORY OF WORLD CERAMICS

This tripod vessel with legs in the form of breasts was used for cooking over a fire. These hollow legs were highly functional because their forms provided a large surface area for the pot to contact the fire, distributing the heat evenly as the food cooked. The pot would have served equally well to pour the heated liquid from its beak-like spout. The spout not only suggests a bird's beak, but the pellet of clay also resembles the eye of the bird, making this vessel another example of zoomorphic form. It was coil built, and extra coils were added to create the rope-like handle, and to add the wavy line, almost like a skirt around the unglazed, earthenware vessel. This three-legged form will remain a staple shape throughout later periods of Chinese history.

Tripod Cooking Vessel, Neolithic China, 3000 BCE, 9.125" height