Urn

8th century
Not on view
This vessel was shaped on a wheel and its green glaze achieved when wood ash melted and fused onto the body during firing. It could have been a medicine jar, but more likely was intended as a cinerary urn, an inexpensive substitute for a gilt-bronze container for ashes. The high rim was designed to hold a straight-sided lid.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 須恵器 甕
  • Title: Urn
  • Period: Nara period (710–794)
  • Date: 8th century
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Stoneware with natural ash glaze (Sue ware)
  • Dimensions: H. 9 in. (22.9 cm); Diam. 10 3/4 in. (27.3 cm); Diam. of rim 6 1/8 in. (15.6 cm); Diam. of foot 5 3/4 in. (14.6 cm)
  • Classification: Ceramics
  • Credit Line: The Harry G. C. Packard Collection of Asian Art, Gift of Harry G. C. Packard, and Purchase, Fletcher, Rogers, Harris Brisbane Dick, and Louis V. Bell Funds, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, and The Annenberg Fund Inc. Gift, 1975
  • Object Number: 1975.268.424
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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