Bird-shaped Urn
A round earthenware jar with a flaring neck, its black slip-painted upper body set with feather-like wing motifs and fine cross-hatched lattice in cream and dark red. The lower body is left plain buff clay, with small lugs near the lower body. The painting suggests Majiayao-style Neolithic ceramics from northwest China.
Look closer: A small rounded lug projects from the lower body beside the base, easily overlooked against the plain clay.
- Artist
- Unknown
- Date
- 2650–2350 BCE
- Medium
- earthenware with slip-painted decoration
- Source
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Size
- 3400 × 3060 px
Public domain · The Cleveland Museum of Art releases this image under CC0 (latest date -2350).
Rights checked 2026-11-05 · tier A · as stated by the source: CC0 (Cleveland Museum of Art Open Access, share_license_status=CC0)
Rights checked 2026-11-05 · tier A · as stated by the source: CC0 (Cleveland Museum of Art Open Access, share_license_status=CC0)
Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Dr. Norman Zaworski in honor of Dr. Ju-hsi Chou