This heavily potted stoneware ewer has a dramatic form with tall handle, large mouth and a chicken-head-shaped spout. Features such as the flattend mouthrim, square lug handles on the shoulder and the cursory incised lines around the shoulder, suggest a metalware prototype was probably the source of inspiration. The thin whitish glaze is quite worn and large irregularly spaced ash glaze drips are visible on the shoulder.The technologically advanced ceramics of the early centuries in northern Vietnam probably came about as a result of cultural interaction between China and Vietnam. In this case, the irregular ash-glazed drips may be the result of an unintentional firing accident, although some also think that the glaze was deliberately applied. So too was the tradition of making elaborate burial wares, which often take the form of miniaturised daily possessions of the deceased, or bronze ritual vessels inspired by Chinese ritual bronze forms.
