Low-fired red pottery with impressed cord pattern
1000–300 BCE
Japan
The British Museum
Details
Culture/Civilisation
Jōmon Culture
Theme
Agriculture and Surplus
Subtheme
Farming, Food and Surplus
Case Title
From clay to pots
Display Location
Coomaraswamy Hall
Measurements
27 x (dia) 21.5 cm
Accession Number
OA+.633
Description
This pot was handmade, rather than wheel-thrown, with coils of clay pressed one atop the other. Jōmon in Japanese means ‘cord-marked’, and the surface of this jar playfully imitates in clay the textures of rope, grass and straw baskets.
Curators Comments
The clay vessels displayed in this exhibition—from Japan, China, India, Iraq, and Sudan—represent approximately 5,000 years of pottery. These are works of art, made for everyday use.
