A burnished black pottery two-handled amphora


Han Dynasty Each side carved with two spirals seeming to issue from the base of the broad strap handles, with finely hatched bands on the faceted neck below the rim formed by an angular spout on either side. 34cm (13 1/2in) high.
|The Property of a Gentleman 士紳藏品漢 黑陶雙耳罐Provenance: Gisèle Croës Arts D'Extreme Orient, 1996Jean-Yves Ollivier Collection來源：布魯塞爾古董商吉賽爾藝廊，1996年歐宗易先生珍藏Many non-Han people lived in southwest China, even after the establishment of the Qin and Han dynasties. Unusually shaped amphorae, such as the present lot, may have been the product of the Qiang, a tribal people who probably came from the steppe but later also lived in the region of the Dian in southwest China. Vessels such as this with lozenge shaped mouths and twin flat handles have been discovered in present day Sichuan and are known as Lifan ware, after the area in Sichuan Province where such jars have been found. A similar vessel, 206BC - 220, probably from Sichuan, is in the British Museum (acc no.1932,0216.1). The same vessel has also been discussed and illustrated by S.Vainker, Chinese Pottery and Porcelain: From Prehistory to the Present, London, 1991, p.43, fig.30.The result of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test no.C118j33, dated 1 august 2018, is consistent with the dating of this lot.罐翻唇，束頸，鼓腹，雙耳接口沿而連罐身，頸部飾篦紋，餘身光素，通體灰黑，質地堅實。此壺或為羌人作品。羌人先秦時期活躍於中國西北，秦漢時期足跡達致西南蜀地和滇域。類似的扁平耳黑陶罐在四川廣有出土，大英博物館藏有一例，定於西漢早期，可資參考，館藏編號1932,0216.1。Oxford Authentication Ltd公司熱釋光檢測結果（2018年8月1日，編號C118j33）顯示年代與本拍品年代一致。