Covered jar

This multi-spouted porcelain jar has a lotus-panelled cover and a flower finial. It has a four-layered body decorated wih carved lotus panels on each layer. The jar is covered with a transparent light-green glaze.Five-tubed jars such as this example were mostly made in kilns at Longquan. At a time when most wares were mass produced and simple, making this type of jar with five to fifteen tubes required highly skilled craftsmen. It is thought vessels of this shape were used by farmers, who would fill them with water and use straws to drink from them while working in the fields. They may have also served a funerary decorative purpose.

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