Heirloom Jar

This richly glazed Ming style stoneware ceramic is an excellent example of an heirloom jar from Sarawak. Among the various ethnic groups of Borneo there developed the tradition of handing on large imported jars as family heirlooms. Social status began to be measured through the number, size and aesthetic quality of the jars a particular individual or family possessed. This fostered competition but it also encouraged trade and contact between the differing ethnic groups. The jars could be used as ossuaries for the bones of a family group’s deceased ancestors and were therefore treated with great respect and ceremony.

See related items

Jar

Ironwood carving of a man on jar

Jar

Jar